• A Victorian Christmas

    A Victorian Christmas, a new coffee table gift book from museum archivist Lucinda Cockrell, combines images of Christmas cards from the early 20th century with the mandolin music of Butch Baldassari. The book is a 64 page, hardbound and foil-embossed edition

  • Jan Johansson Benefit

    Circle of Friends for Jan has announced that there will be a benefit for Jan Johansson, a Bill Monroe disciple and multi-instrumentalist and fiddle teacher based in Cary, North Carolina. He also is known for giving fiddle workshops and instruction alongside

  • Chord books for kids from Mel Bay

    Mel Bay Publications has released a series of children's chord books for young pickers getting started on banjo, mandolin or ukulele. Each book runs 24 pages and presents the chords systematically, starting with simple shapes and moving later to more difficult

  • Stolen mandolin recovered

    Those of us who work in and around the music business recognize instrument thieves as among the most degenerate scum prowling the earth. We share the frustration and anger that accompanies the story of a professional musician finding their instrument

  • Mando workshop to benefit Butch Baldassari

    We've posted repeatedly here about Butch Baldassari, his ongoing health concerns as he battles a pernicious cancer, and the many opportunities that have been presented to come to his and his family's aid. Here's another... This weekend, the Musical Heritage Center of

  • Stolen Instrument: Gibson Adam Steffey #29

    IBMA is mostly an old family homecoming, but there are a few bad apples in the barrel, so to speak. It seems one of them was wondering around the Renaissance Friday morning. Chris Harris, who plays mandolin with Junior Sisk and

  • New books from Mel Bay

    Mel Bay Publications has three new instructional books that will be of interest to any of our readers who study the mandolin or fiddle. The Mel Bay Mandolin Scales Chart is a simple 4 page folded chart which displays common and

  • 2008 Winfield winners

    The winners of the instrument contests at the 2008 Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS have been announced. Here are a few highlights. Flatpick Guitar 1st place: Tyler Grant - Nashville, TN 2nd place: Allen Shadd - Fort Mill, SC 3rd place: Brandon Davis -

  • Mel Bay reissues Kenny Hall book

    Kenny Hall has been a notable musician in the old time music world since the release of his album, Kenny Hall and the Sweet Mills String Band in 1972. Of course, he had been playing since 1937, on mandolin, fiddle

  • Win an Eastman mandolin

    Our friends over at Mandolin Cafe are running a contest for the next month where the winner will receive a new Eastman mandolin. The prize in Eastman's new 815V F-style mandolin, which is made with a carved, red spruce top, flamed