kenhaighDec 25, 20211 minMerry ChristmasHere is a little Christmas offering, "What Child is This?", played on my grandfather's old banjo (arrangement by Josh Turknett). Merry...
kenhaighJul 16, 20215 minBanjo Friday 16The banjo is unique among modern acoustic string instruments in that it is designed to be taken apart. It is a tinkerer's dream, and this...
kenhaighJul 2, 20211 minBanjo Friday 15Here's another post featuring clawhammer banjoist, Abigail Washburn. As a student she travelled to China to study law to improve...
kenhaighJun 18, 20211 minBanjo Friday 14Today, I want to feature the playing of Frank Evans. I first heard Frank playing with the Slocan Ramblers at Banjofest in Guelph in March...
kenhaighMay 28, 20211 minBanjo Friday 13In this week's post, I won't be featuring a player or a song, but a tuning. One of the things that sets a banjo apart from a guitar is...
kenhaighMay 21, 20211 minBanjo Friday 12Today's tune is the "The Cuckoo." It's an English folk song that has spread throughout the English-speaking world. The earliest printed...
kenhaighMay 14, 20211 minBanjo Friday 11In an earlier post, I mentioned hearing Brad Kolodner play at a house concert. Here is Brad playing a fiddle tune called "Julianne...
kenhaighApr 30, 20211 minBanjo Friday 10I must confess I had never heard of Ola Belle Reed until I heard Brad Kolodner play "I've Endured" at a house concert a few years ago. ...
kenhaighApr 23, 20212 minBanjo Friday 9The late Pete Seeger is one of my heroes. Born in New York City in 1919, Seeger was a Harvard dropout who discovered the banjo and hit...
kenhaighApr 16, 20211 minBanjo Friday 8It's always fun to watch a banjo cross genre boundaries. Today's selection comes from Finland and a bluegrass band called Steve 'n...
kenhaighApr 9, 20211 minBanjo Friday 7Here is Cathy Fink, on the five-string, and Marcy Marxer, on a cello banjo, with a really fine rendition of "Coleman's March." This is...
kenhaighMar 26, 20211 minBanjo Friday 6This week I'd like to feature a clawhammer player from Toronto, Chris Coole. Chris got his start busking and has become one of the most...
kenhaighMar 19, 20211 minBanjo Friday 5I want to feature another banjo duet this week, although I don't want you to get the impression that banjo duets are a common thing....
kenhaighMar 12, 20211 minBanjo Friday 4When I was in university and just starting to teach myself the 5-string banjo, I haunted used record stores trying to find old LPs of...
kenhaighMar 5, 20211 minBanjo Friday 3I mentioned in an earlier post that Earl Scruggs inspired me to take up the five-string banjo. I would imagine that he inspired many of...
kenhaighFeb 26, 20211 minBanjo Friday 2Here's another great song for the banjoist, "The Mexican Cowboy," aka "The Hills of Mexico." Like all great folk songs, you can find it...
kenhaighFeb 19, 20211 minBanjo Friday 1Here's a catchy tune that I am trying to learn, Wabash Blues. I think a lot of clawhammer players hear this tune and immediately want to...
kenhaighFeb 10, 20216 minMy Grandfather's BanjoWhen my grandmother passed away, and her children gathered to clear out the family home in preparation for its sale, they found a fiddle,...