Details on the 3rd Annual Smoky Mountain Banjo Academy are now posted online. This three day banjo workshop weekend will be held April 21-23, 2006 near Gatlinburg, TN and is modeled in large part on the now-defunct Maryland Banjo Academy once hosted by Banjo NewsLetter. SMBA is organized and run by Jack Hatfield, who will also be an instructor.

The idea of this event is to bring together banjo players (teachers and students) from both the picked and non-picked disciplines, with bluegrass, jazz, classic, minstrel and old time banjoists sharing a weekend of instructional opportunities together. Each day at SMBA is broken into short class segments, each quite specifically targeted to a stated skill level and topic, and attendees can pick the ones that best suit their interests and needs. Each student also has the option of signing up for private sessions with the instructor of their choice, though these times are limited and scheduled on a first come, first served basis on site.

This year’s staff includes Tom Adams, Jason Bales, Dave Ball, Eddie Collins, Charlie Cushman, Bill Evans, Gary “Biscuit” Davis, Wayne Erbsen, Andy King, James McKinney, Roger & Anne Simpson (Eucalyptus Banjos, Australia), Sammy Shelor, Tom Nechville and Leroy Troy.

Find complete details and registration information on the SMBA web site.