Gallagher Guitar Archives - Bluegrass Today

Silent Night from Jim Hurst

Veteran guitarist, vocalist, and solo artist Jim Hurst has released a music video as his 2024 offering for the Christmas season.

It’s a lovely treatment of the classic hymn, Silent Night, which he recorded with his Gallagher Jim Hurst Signature Series model #1, the rosewood companion to his road axe, the mahogany #2. Jim sings it in a straightforward fashion with his rich baritone.

Hurst isn’t offering the track for sale, just sharing the lovely audio he tracked at Tim Carter’s TreeHouse Studios as a gift to all in this video with a virtual fireplace and a variety of Christmas images.

Enjoy…

Sound Biscuit auctioning a Josh Rinkel guitar for ETSU Youth Summer Camp

Sound Biscuit Productions in Sevierville, TN is donating a new, custom Gallagher Josh Rinkel signature guitar, to be auctioned to benefit scholarship opportunities for deserving youngsters to attend the ETSU Bluegrass Summer Camp. ETSU is located in Johnson City, TN and the Camp runs from July 8-12.

The Camp welcomes young pickers aged 11-19 to spend a week on the ETSU campus which houses the school’s Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music program, where they offer bachelors degrees in the named disciplines. Camp students have the option of staying in supervised student housing, for out of town visitors with meals included, or with a lower rate for local campers. They will study with ETSU faculty and noted bluegrass performers, have instrumental and vocal lessons, and get to visit the ETSU Studio Lab. Bands will be assembled, grouped by ability and experience, which will be coached by faculty members.

Thanks to Sound Biscuit and Gallagher, auction participants have the opportunity to obtain this unique guitar, valued at $5,000, through the auction process, with proceeds donated to provide scholarships for worthy young players who can’t afford the Camp’s $750 registration fee.

A minimum bid of $2,500 is required to get in to the auction, which is open now.

Rinkle, guitarist with The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, made this short video to explain the auction, and show off his personal Gallagher signature guitar.

The guitar up at auction has two custom features, a special inlay in the first two frets that reads “Spirit in the Bluegrass,” and a label that identifies it as being made in support of the ETSU Bluegrass Summer Camp.

Multiple student family discounts are available of 50%. Faculty include Trey Hensley, Kalia Yeagle, Dan Boner, Ben Bateson, Angelica Branum, and Jeremy Fritts, with more to be announced.

Full auction details an be found on the Sound Biscuit web site.

GallagherFest launches in Murfreesboro, TN

Great news for bluegrass and guitar pickin’ fans in Murfreesboro, TN!

With the end of the long running Uncle Dave Macon Days festival downtown, the city and community leaders have created a new event to bring people back for acoustic and roots music on the streets. Called GallagherFest, and launching on May 4, 2024, the one day festival will combine an instrument contest, free music all day, and a big bluegrass concert that evening.

Though the festival was named to honor Gallagher Guitar Co., which was started in nearby Shelbyville in 1965, and moved to Murfreesboro with new owner David Mathis in 2019, it won’t be purely a flatpicking affair. There will be instrument contests for banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and guitar, with prizes bring either new instruments or a cash award. Endorsing Gallagher artists will entertain between the contests, with a performance by the Hacknsaw Boys to close out the free street fair.

Then on the evening of May 4, a ticketed concert featuring Laura Orshaw and Josh Rinkel opening for The Dan Tyminski Band will be hosted at The Walnut House.

Mathis tells us that he is excited about GallagherFest, and proud to be the primary sponsor, but that the name gives him pause, and wants everyone to know it wasn’t his idea.

“It’s heartwarming and exciting for me to see this happening here in Murfreesboro, it is gratifying that the organizers wanted the music festival associated with Gallagher.”

The company is deeply involved, and are donating the first prize in the guitar contest, a new Gallagher G-50, the very first model designed and built by JW Gallagher when he began the company, and the first he gave to Doc Watson. The G-50 guitars currently retails for $4,200.

Co-sponsor Gold Tone is likewise giving away a new instrument for the winner of the banjo competition, one of their Mastertone OB-3EF models, valued at roughly $2,000.

David says that they are hopeful of finding a mandolin and fiddle sponsor to provide new instruments for those winners as well, but will offer cash prizes if no one is found by May.

To enter the GallagherFest contests, potential competitors are invited to submit a short video of yourself playing, along with the $15 entry fee. Twelve contestants will be chosen as finalists for each instrument, and they will all duke it out for the top prizes on Walnut Street in downtown Murfreesboro.

Full contest information and entry forms can be found online.

Also set to perform downtown during GallagherFest are Jim Hurst, Chris Jones & Paolo Ercoli, Scott Heuston & Erica Flom, Asher Cataldo & Bryce Reeg, Kristen Ford, and David DeVaul & Jesse Black.

Tickets are available now for the Dan Tyminski concert on May 4, and Mathis tells us that it’s not a very large venue, so those hoping to attend are encouraged to get yours soon.

Congratulations to Murfreesboro and to Gallagher Guitar for pulling together a fun day downtown. More details about the day’s offerings are on the GallagherFest web site.

Gallagher introduces Josh Rinkel signature guitar

Gallagher Guitar Company has announced two new models designed in collaboration with Josh Rinkel of The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys.

Called the Josh Rinkel Standard and the Josh Rinkel Signature, these are both mahogany guitars with an Adirondack spruce top from eastern Tennessee, stained with a tobacco sunburst finish.

Rinkel is only the fourth featured artist with a signature Gallagher model, the others being Jim Hurst and Doc and Merle Watson. He says that he is thrilled with what they’ve come up with.

“I never thought I’d have my name and signature on the label of a guitar. Getting to envision, help design, and put my name on such a great instrument is like a dream, something I don’t take lightly.

Getting to know, and working with the folks at Gallagher Guitars is a true honor. They are not just a team of luthiers, but a family of people who share a passion for what they do. The bond they have with their craft shows through in their work, not only in the craftsmanship and quality, but in the sound and soul of each individual guitar. That combination can only make for an instrument that has it all.”

Gallagher has been building top quality professional acoustic guitars for nearly 60 years now. Starting in 1965 with J.W. Gallagher and his son, Don, who took over in 1976 when his father retired. Don’s son, Stephen, managed the company that bears his family name until 2019, when it was sold to David and Reina Mathis, who now own and operate Gallagher Guitar Co.

The only difference between the two Rinkel models has to do with appointments. The Standard, selling for $4,600, has an unbound fingerboard and headstock with a black pickguard, while the Signature, at $4,995, has black and white binding and a tiger stripe pick guard. The Signature model also has a Buffalo-themed label signed by Josh.

Here’s a video Josh shot at Gallagher with Laura Orshaw using his new Signature model.

Gallagher can also install the same electronics package Rinkel uses on stage with The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys upon request.

For more information about the two Josh Rinkel guitars, contact Gallagher directly, or any of their many dealers in the US.

Gallagher Guitar Company lives on with new ownership

Since 1965, the Gallagher Guitar Co. has been building high quality, handmade acoustic guitars in Tennessee. Treasured by flatpickers and finger style guitarists alike, these fine instruments attained global recognition when the great Doc Watson acquired one of their G-50 models, nicknamed Ol’ Hoss, in 1969.

The legend of Ol’ Hoss has grown over the years since Doc started playing it. The dreadnaught style guitar had been used by founder J.W. Gallagher as a sample, as the side had been cracked during production, so it was not intended to be sold. But when J.W. showed it to Doc at the Union Grove festival in 1969, he wouldn’t give it back. The guitar was widely known for its volume and clarity of tone, and Doc didn’t care about a cracked side. It became one of his favorite guitars.

On the strength of Watson’s endorsement, and the enduring excellence of the Gallagher guitars, the company thrived in their Wartrace, TN shop. J.W. retired in 1976, turning ownership and management of the company over to his son Don. But when Don was ready to retire himself in 2019, it appeared that the Gallagher legacy would come to an end. They announced that all guitars currently under construction or commission would be completed, but no new orders would be accepted.

But then David Mathis, a Gallagher fan in nearby Murfreesboro, stepped in. Mathis couldn’t bear the notion of them shutting down. “I learned my first guitar chords on a Gallagher from a man who had a 1967 Gallagher G-50,” he said. “When I heard the company had closed its doors, I started thinking about what could be done to keep it going.”

Soon discussions were underway between David and Don Gallagher, resulting in Mathis acquiring the Gallagher Guitar Co. late in 2019. He and his wife, Reina, are managing the company, with Daren Gallman coming on board as chief luthier, with 15 years of woodworking experience in luthiery and furniture building.

David and Reina have moved the Gallagher shop to Murfreesboro, and upgraded the facilities available to the team of builders, using many of the same plans, molds, simple machines, and guidelines established by J.W. and Don Gallagher from the 1960s forward. Also on the team are luthiers Austin Derryberry, Hunter Petty, and Zeb Turrentine. The Gallagher family is fully behind the new company, and endorses their efforts 100%.

Alongside the new Gallagher shop, the company has opened a live music venue called Gallagher Unplugged, which is being managed by Haley Mathis, David and Reina’s daughter. There they will offer a stage for bluegrass and acoustic artists to perform, just 30 minutes from the Nashville market.

You can still find the popular Gallagher models designed by J.W. over the years, as well as the Doc Watson and Jim Hurst signature models. The custom shop is still in operation, with seven different body styles you can choose from in having a one-of-a-kind guitar made to your specifications.

Shop tours are available now on Saturdays, and guitar lovers are welcome to visit and try out the various Gallagher models, but they do request that you set an appointment before driving over, at least while COVID restrictions remain in place. The shop and the venue are located at the corner of College and Walnut Streets in Murfreesboro.

Gallagher guitars are available from a select network of dealers around the US, and directly from the company.

You can see all the models and styles offered online.