|
|
News
RETURN
TO TOP
|
The Hot Club of Cowtown
and Riders in the Sky corralled five Western Music Association
Awards, November 14, in Las Vegas. The Hot Club won Best Western
Swing Duo/Group and the Crescendo Award for emerging artists. Riders
in the Sky took home Best Traditional Western Album for A Pair
of Kings and their second consecutive Entertainer of the Year
award. Riders accordionist Joey "the Cow Polka King" Miskulin won
Instrumentalist of the Year. The WMA commemorated the comedic cowboy
quartet's silver anniversary the following evening with a roast
and tribute dinner.
The Michele Pittaluga
International Guitar Competition ended September 27 in Alessandria,
Italy, with a surprising result: no first prize was awarded. Semifinalist
Enea Leone of Italy was disqualified for using sheet music in the
final round, and judges gave second place to Italy's Christian Saggese
and third place to Ukraine's Roman Viazovskiy. Polish guitarist
Marcin Dylla was awarded the Chitarra d'oro for the most promising
young guitarist.
|
|
Events
RETURN
TO TOP
|
Bring your guitar out
of hibernation for String Thaw's Old-Time Music Weekend,
March 13–16, in Penland, North Carolina. Events include dancing,
jamming, and concerts and workshops by Alice Gerrard, Wayne Henderson,
and others. To register, visit www.stringthaw.org.
The National Festival
of the West, March 13–16, Scottsdale, Arizona, gives cowboys
and cowgirls the chance to hear three stages' worth of toe-tappin'
music, eat fine chuck wagon cookin', and enjoy a special tribute
to cowboy balladeers. For more information, go to www.festivalofthewest.com.
|
|
New
Releases
RETURN
TO TOP
|
The Official Vintage
Guitar Magazine Price Guide 2003 (Vintage Guitar Books,
www.vguitar.com)
is filled with well-researched information on the history and value
of hundreds of instruments, amplifiers, and effects. Almost 130
brands have been added to this edition of the annual publication.
Burrito Deluxe's
debut CD, Georgia Peach (Lamon, www.lamonrecords.com),
available February 28, brings former Flying Burrito Brother Sneaky
Pete Kleinow together with Garth Hudson, Tommy Spurlock, Carlton
Moody, and Willie Watson to play music in the tradition of Gram
Parsons. The album marks pedal steel guitarist Kleinow's first foray
into the studio in a decade.
|
|
In
Memory
RETURN
TO TOP
|
Singer, banjo player,
and guitar player Ola Belle Reed passed away on August 17,
2002. The old-time music pioneer wrote more than 200 songs, including
"High on a Mountain," "I've Endured," and "The Springtime of Life."
In the 1950s Reed and her husband, singer and guitarist Bud Reed,
ran the New River Ranch in Maryland, one of the premier country
venues at the time. During the country and old-time music revival
of the '70s, Reed performed at festivals throughout the country,
and many of her songs found their way into the bluegrass and old-time
canons.
Folk-blues legend Dave
Ray died November 28 after a battle with cancer. Known for his
raucous playing style, Ray developed an early affinity for the 12-string
blues of Leadbelly and paired in high school with his lifelong musical
partner, harmonica player Tony Glover. In the early '60s, Ray and
Glover formed an eponymous trio with singer/guitarist Spider John
Koerner. Although the trio never achieved more than cult status,
their influential first album, Blues, Rags, and Hollers,
led to appearances at the Philadelphia and Newport Folk Festivals.
|
|
Cyber
Notes
RETURN
TO TOP
|
In November, the New
York Foundation for the Arts (www.nyfa.org)
debuted NYFA Source, a free online database of over 2,600 grants
and awards programs, 2,000 services, and 700 publications for
artists in dance, music, folk/traditional art, theater, performance
art, design, media, and literary arts.
Guitarists whose musical
tastes lean toward the Polynesian can visit www.taropatch.net,
a site dedicated to Hawaiian slack-key music. The site features
resources for learning slack-key (including a list of tunings),
a message board, and news headlines to bring you a little bit closer
to the 50th state.
The New England Conservatory
Job Bulletin is a biweekly email listing hundreds of positions
in music performance, teaching, and arts administration worldwide.
A subscription costs $35 per year. To view samples of the bulletin,
go to www.newenglandconservatory.edu/career.
|
|
Meet
A.G.
RETURN
TO TOP
|
Click
here to meet the Acoustic Guitar team at a wide variety upcoming
music events and trade shows. Listed below are some things happening
in the next few weeks.
|
| |
Excerpted from Acoustic
Guitar magazine, March
2003, No. 123.
|
Got some news? Send it to Happenings, Acoustic
Guitar, PO Box 767, San Anselmo, CA 94979-0767; email happenings.ag@stringletter.com;
or fax (415) 485-0831.
|
