The bluegrass festival season is just getting underway in earnest for 2016, and already the big news is the return of David Parmley to the circuit with his stellar band, Cardinal Tradition. Standing on stage with David on the five is Dale Perry, as he had done for many years before Parmley pulled away from touring a few years ago.
Dale has a long history in bluegrass music including a stint with the original Bluegrass Cardinals, some time with the early Lonesome River Band, and several years with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. His hard-driving banjo playing is well-regarded throughout bluegrass music, as are his skills as a bass singer and a studio engineer.
And now Wilson Banjo in South Carolina has brought Perry on as an endorser. Dale is playing one of Steve Wilson’s Guardian models and says that it suits him just fine.
“The most attention grabbing feature of the Wilson custom banjo was the TONE. Everyone searches for the ‘pre-war’ banjo tone and the Wilson banjo delivers it perfectly! The craftsmanship and style was an immediate fit for me. I love the simplicity of it. The greatest surprise was how lightweight the banjo is and it makes playing shows so much easier with the Wilson than all the heavier models I have played in the past. The banjo provides me with the TOTAL package that I have searched for. I am proud to attest to the beautiful, yet simple features, lightweight feeling and most of all, that ‘pre-war’ tone of the Wilson custom banjo!”
The banjo is a maple model with gold plated parts and a unique inlay pattern of Steve’s design.
Steve Wilson is a life-long grasser and instrument builder who honed his craft as a luthier in the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville. Now retired and living in South Carolina, Steve has dedicated his time to bluegrass, both building these custom banjos, and playing banjo with his band, also called Wilson Banjo Co.
Here’s Dale blowing through Big Country at Bean Blossom on his new Wilson Guardian with David and the boys.
You can find more information about Wilson Banjo, and contact Steve, online.
