HELPFUL RESOURCES
Classic-Banjo.com
A website dedicated to all enthusiasts of Classic Style Banjo
Visit: classic-banjo.ning.com
Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History
by Kristina R. Gaddy
An illuminating history of the banjo, revealing its origins at the crossroads of slavery, religion, and music.
Banjo Roots and Branches
Edited by Robert B. Winans
The story of the banjo’s journey from Africa to the western hemisphere blends music, history, and a union of cultures.
Visit: University of Illinois Press
CONTEMPORARIES, COLLABORATORS, HEROES, INSPIRATION
Alex Belhaj
Alex Belhaj is a guitarist based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he leads his own Crescent City Quartet and Quintet in addition to playing a variety of music including Ragtime, folk and his original music.
Visit: alexbelhaj.com
King Sophia
King Sophia is a classically trained cellist of 15 years with a Bachelors in Cello Performance from University of Miami: Frost School of Music. They are also a vocalist, an electric guitarist, a songwriter and composer, an arranger, a conductor, a performer and recording artist, a teacher, and above all, a student and a catalyst for change.
Visit: kingsophiamusic.com
Jerron Paxton
King Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton has earned a reputation for transporting audiences back to the 1920’s and making them wish they could stay there for good. Blind Boy Paxton may be one of the greatest multi-instrumentalists that you have not heard of. Yet. And time is getting short, fast.
Visit: jerronpaxton.com
The Lovestruck Balladeers
The Lovestruck Balladeers enchant audiences with their masterful performances and inspired repertoire of ragtime, jazz and beautiful songs from around the world. The Lovestruck Balladeers are: Jake Sanders, Dennis Lichtman, Sean Cronin and Dalton Ridenhour.
Visit: lovestruckballadeers.com
Meredith Axelrod
Delightfully engaging and unassumingly comic, Meredith Axelrod envisions the limitless potential of early twentieth century music, whether it be Ragtime, Music Hall, Pop Standard, Boogie Woogie, Tin Pan Alley, String band, Jazz, Country, Blues or even Jug Band music, and embodies the spirit that brought the music into existence in the first place.
Visit: meredithaxelrod.com
Chris Sands
Chris Sands is one of the finest classic banjo performers in the world today. Chris studied the classic banjo with Tarrant Bailey Junior, who was one of the greatest English classic banjo performers of the 20th. century.
Greg C. Adams
Greg C. Adams is an archivist, ethnomusicologist, and musician. He currently serves as Assistant Archivist at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in Washington, D.C. He holds a B.A. in music history and graduate degrees in library science and ethnomusicology. Greg’s musical interests are grounded in critical heritage research and programming focused on the multicultural history of the banjo.
Visit: music.si.edu/greg-adams
Detroit Party Marching Band
The Detroit Party Marching Band is an ever-evolving collective of 20+ Detroit area musicians devoted to frenetic revelry, driving jams, and the power of the un-amplified horn blast.
Frank Fairfield
Frank Fairfield is a multi-instrumentalist, music teacher, and record collector.
Visit: frankfairfieldmusic.com