The folks at Sugar Hill Records and Elderly Instruments, along with Saga, Deering and Michael Kelly, are sponsoring a contest in conjunction with Chris Thile’s new CD to help you grow your own band.

The CD is, as has been mentioned here many time, How To Grow A Woman From The Ground, and the band currently touring in support had been billed as How To Grow A Band.

The contest, which runs through November 17, will award three winners either a Michael Kelly Festival F-model mandolin package, a Deering Goodtime 2 resonator banjo, or a Saga Blueridge BR 40 dreadnaught guitar.

The rules state that only one entry is allowed per person, and submissions must be made on the Sugar Hill web site.

While we realize that this contest is run to help promote the Thile CD and these fine manufacturers – not that there’s anything wrong with that – it strikes me as heartening that they recognize that Chris’ music is likely to spark an interest in learning to play among his many fans.

All of us who make an attempt to commit bluegrass were brought in by some initial exposure to the music, and I can’t see where one is any better than another. Let’s hope that a great many new proponents of the banjo, guitar or mandolin are born from Thile’s re-embrace of his bluegrass roots.