March 1, 2007 is the last date to take advantage of the early registration discount for the 2007 Smoky Mountain Banjo Academy. The event, held each spring near Gatlinburg, TN (hosted by Jack Hatfield), is scheduled this year from April 20-22. A $50 discount is offered for early registration.

Over the course of 3 days, more than 16 banjo instructors will conduct dozens of small classes and demonstrations, arranged by skill level, and offered for both old time and bluegrass banjo styles. There is also a faculty concert, a student banjo competition and plenty of organized and free-form jamming.

The faculty for SMBA ‘07 is rich with well known players and teachers: Eddie Adcock, Jason Bales, Dave Ball, Gary Davis, Janet Davis, Jack Hatfield, Bill Keith, Andy King, John Lawless, Randal Morton, James McKinney, Tom Nechville, Ken Perlman, Butch Robins, Rick Sampson and Snuffy Smith.

The name is apt, as everything takes place at the Wa-Floy Retreat, in the heart of The Smokies.

Find all the pertinent faculty, schedule and registration details on the SMBA web site.

The 3rd annual Midwest Banjo Camp is set for June 1-3, 2007 on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI. The faculty includes many of the biggest names in bluegrass and old time banjo, such as Alan Munde, Bill Evans, Murphy Henry, Ken Perlman, Mike Seeger and Clarke Buehling.

The camp sets up a large number of highly specialized classes, with tracks for beginning, intermediate and advanced players. The instruction is designed to offer a mix of hands-on workshops and demonstrations of specific styles and techniques. Two faculty concerts are also on the schedule.

The full list of instructors is quite impressive:

• Old-time: Cathy Barton-Para, Clarke Buehling, Cathy Fink, Joe Newberry, Michael Miles, Ken Perlman and Mike Seeger.
• Bluegrass: Danny Barnes, Janet Beazley, Greg Cahill, Bill Evans, Murphy Henry, Gerald Jones, Ned Luberecki, Alan Munde and Mike Sumner
• Accompanists: Peter Knupfer (bluegrass fiddle) and Ron McKeever (bluegrass guitar)

Midwest banjo Camp is operated under the direction of Ken Perlman. Full details can be found on the MBC web site.