GLAMA's Female Artist of the Year, Sonia.

From Acoustic Guitar Magazine, August 1999, No. 80

News - Events - New Releases - Contests - Cybernotes - Meet A.G. - Send News

News RETURN TO TOP	The 1999 Gay/Lesbian American Music Awards (GLAMA) took place April 12 in New York City. Sonia was named Female Artist of the Year, Laura Love's Shum Ticky won Album of the Year, and Rufus Wainwright's eponymous release was named best debut. Singer-songwriter Michael W. Smith's six Dove Awards made him the top honoree at the Gospel Music Association's awards ceremony held March 24 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Events RETURN TO TOP	More than 135 leading guitar makers will assemble at the 1999 Healdsburg Guitar Festival from August 12 to 15 in the beautiful wine-country town of Healdsburg, California. Read more here, or visit the Guitar Festival page at the Luthiers Mercantile International Web site. The Acoustic Blues and Slide Guitar Workshop, to be held August 22–28 at the lovely campus of the University of California, Santa Cruz, features hands-on, 'round-the-clock learning with instructors Woody Mann, Bob Brozman, Martin Simpson, John Cephas, Orville Johnson, and Kristina Olsen. Call (516) 767-8718 or visit www.guitarseminars.com for more information. Kiss the Blarney Stone and take a musical tour of Ireland with frets wizard Mick Moloney, who hosts a series of two-week adventures featuring tromps through peat bogs and castles as well as music sessions with the finest local musicians and dancers. For information, contact Irish Folklore Tours, www.irishfolkloretours.com, (800) 848-4364. The Second Annual Woody Guthrie Free Folk Festival, July 14–18, in Guthrie's hometown of Okemah, Oklahoma, will feature a host of folk luminaries, including Arlo Guthrie, the Kingston Trio, John Wesley Harding, Country Joe McDonald, and Chuck Pyle. Call (918) 825-5156 or see the festival Web site at www.woodyguthrie.com/fff. This year's Swannanoa Gathering guitar week near Asheville, North Carolina, focuses on flatpicking, fingerstyle, ragtime, and blues guitar. The classes run July 25–31, and guitar instructors include Al Petteway, Pete and Maura Kennedy, Roy Book Binder, Robin Bullock, and Preston Reed. For information, call (828) 298-3434 or visit the Web site at www.swangathering.org. Bluegrass enthusiasts who attend the 1999 RockyGrass Bluegrass Academy (July 26–29) in Lyons, Colorado, will have an opportunity to study with guitar instructors John Moore, Sandy Munro, and Scott Nygaard, and special guest instructors Del McCoury and Peter Rowan. The Academy preceeds the RockyGrass bluegrass festival, July 30–August 1. Call (800) 624-2422 or visit www.bluegrass.com.
New Releases RETURN TO TOP	Lavish, large-format photography celebrates the human touch in the book Heart and Hands: Musical Instrument Makers of America. Luthiers famous and obscure are well represented in text and photography by Jake Jacobson. An interactive CD-ROM is also available with a collection of authentic music and field interviews with the makers. Order it from Könemann at (970) 728-6660, or see excerpts at www.northlightofco.com. Rhythm's Where It's At with Mike Dowling's new swing guitar rhythm method from Homespun Tapes. The 90-minute instructional video focuses on chord substitutions, rhythm vamps, jump-style syncopations, and extended chord voicings. Pierre Bensusan, the crown prince of D A D G A D, has released Nice Feeling (Zebra Acoustic), his first-ever retrospective of fingerstyle hits drawn from six recordings spanning a 20-year period.
Contests RETURN TO TOP	The John Lennon Songwriting Contest will award prizes to the best original compositions in a dozen categories including folk, world, jazz, country, and pop. Applications can be obtained at www.jlsc.com or by calling (888) 884-5572.
Cybernotes RETURN TO TOP	Take advantage of the Random Bad Bluegrass Band Namer at www.mandolincafe.com. We did, and the A.G. staff string band is now called the Lost Washboard Grasscutters. Lark in the Morning (www.larkinthemorning.com) is a one-stop, online shopping center for bandurrias, ouds, bouzoukis, didgeridoos, and over 6,000 other hard-to-find musical instruments from around the globe. The company's award-winning Web site is chock-full of illustrations, history, and how-to information. Blues mavens with modems will make the most of the definitive Reverend Gary Davis home page, a reverential tribute to the fingerstyle master, complete with photographs, artwork, discography, audio samples, and memorabilia at www.best.com/~easyed/RGD/. Looking for a strapping good time? Anders Sterner has an extensive online capo museum at http://w1.865.telia.com/~u86505074/capomuseum.
Meet A.G. RETURN TO TOP	If you're coming to the summer NAMM show in Nashville, July 23–25, stop by the Acoustic Guitar booth and pick up tickets to the fourth annual Acoustic Magic concert at Caffé Milano, Saturday, July 24, at 7 p.m. The concert will feature performances by Jamie Findlay, Patty Griffin, Chris Proctor, and Tim Sparks. Tickets are also available at the sponsor booths: EMF Acoustics, CFox Guitars, and GHS Strings.

 

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