We are very fortunate this year to have Dean Hoffmeyer shooting for us during World Of Bluegrass. He is a Pulitzer-nominated photographer with The Richmond Times Dispatch, and his work speaks for itself. Dean’s work also graces a number of recent bluegrass CD covers, including the recent Grasstowne and Jason Davis projects.

Dean will be providing photos over the next few days, including Thursday night’s Awards Show. He will posting them as soon as he shoots, so we’ll have galleries going up during the show, while Brance and I are posting the winners in real time here on The Bluegrass Blog.

As always, they have a crackerjack staff of banjo instructors on tap, and Evans was especially pleased to note that this year Bill Emerson will make his NashCamp Banjo faculty debut. Joining Emerson will be host Sonny Osborne, Alan Munde, Tom Adams, Charlie Cushman, Ned Luberecki, Bill Evans and Frank Neat.

This will be their 9th year holding this event which Evans tells us is as oriented towards having fun as it is serious banjo instruction.

You can see all the details about the 2009 NashCamp Banjo Retreat online.

Bobby Osborne was scheduled to play on The Grand Ole Opry this past weekend, coinciding with the 41st anniversary of Rocky Top, which was released on December 25, 1967. Bobby’s regular banjo man, Dana Cupp, was unavailable for the show, so Daniel got the call.

“Having filled in and worked with Sonny and Bobby numerous times in the past I always jump at the chance to play that music again. After I spoke to Bobby about doing the show, Sonny got in touch with me on Friday morning (12/26). He asked if I would like to play his RB-3, the banjo that was used on the original recording of Rocky Top and numerous other Osborne Brothers songs.

I, of course, said that I would love to!

The end result of the evening was me getting to perform on the stage of the Opry at The Ryman, during the anniversary of Rocky Top, playing the banjo that recorded it, beside the man who sang it!

What a Christmas gift! A very high point in my career! What a great banjo and a great moment!”

The audio from that Opry show should show up soon in the WSM online archives.

Daniel tells us that the new Marty Raybon CD, This That and the Other, is due for release in January ‘09, and that they will begin touring in support when they return from a Caribbean cruise with Rhonda Vincent in early February.

Tough duty…

The Marty Raybon schedule can be found on his web site, and samples from Daniel’s fine solo CD, April Fool, can be heard at CD Baby.

The perspective of the book focuses on the time when a new generation of musicians were taking bluegrass in new directions while many of the early pioneers were still active – and performing on the same festivals.

Phil has kindly agreed to allow us to display several images from the book.

    

Bluegrass Time includes a foreword by Rhonda Vincent, an introduction by bluegrass historian Fred Bartenstein, and extensive captions about the performers featured in the book. It is available in softcover for $25 from Phil’s web site, where you can also see several more images from the book.

The publication of the book coincides with the opening of a year-long exhibition of full size original prints at the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, KY. There are 52 prints in this solo exhibition, all of which Mr. Zimmerman has donated to the museum’s permanent collection.

This event is hosted by noted banjo players Sonny Osborne and Bill Evans, along with Cindy Sinclair. They welcome beginning through advanced bluegrass banjo players for a weekend of small group instruction, jamming for all ability levels, a faculty concert and much more.

Evans shares a few thoughts about NashCamp…

“While folks come to learn banjo, the emphasis is also on making friends, hanging out with your banjo heros, having fun and eating lots of great food. We’ve had young and old attend each year, men and women – people from all parts of the United States and even Japan. I’m especially proud of the fact that we have a great group of women who attend each year – and that number grows with each camp. Sonny has been our guiding light with this event – his positive energy and enthusiasm along with his interest to stay involved with others who love the banjo inspires everyone around him. This camp has a great spirit. This is the camp to attend if you’d like comfortable surroundings, great food and tremendous fellowship in the company of some of the best banjo players and teachers in the world.

And with Sonny and J. D. in one place, who knows what will happen?”

Students are grouped according to ability level – from beginners with one year of playing experience to the most advanced players. Small group instruction is mixed with full group interactive sessions and the Friday night jam features some of the best Nashville musicians sitting in with students. Saturday’s highlight is a faculty concert that features all of the teachers playing in different combinations. Banjo builder extraordinaire Frank Neat will be on hand for the entire weekend, helping students with banjo setup and getting everyone’s banjo sounding its best.

“Folks often talk themselves out of attending a camp like this because they think that they might not be good enough players but that’s a big mistake! It’s important to remember if you’re feeling insecure about your playing, then everyone else is feeling that way about themselves too. At NashCamp, we do our best to make everyone feel welcome and comfortable playing with others.”

J. D. Crowe will be attending camp on Friday and Saturday; Charlie Cushman on Sunday. All of the other teachers will be at camp for all three days. The camp begins with Friday lunch and ends on Sunday around 3:30 p.m. All meals are provided. This event has sold out in advance the last two years, so advance registration is recommended.

Full tuition and registration details can be found at NashCamp.com.

This new model is called The Scout, and is a maple banjo with nickel plated parts. The peghead has “The Osborne” inlaid in mother of pearl script, and Sonny’s signature is engraved on a block in the 12th fret.

The neck is made from figured maple and the one-piece resonator is flamed maple, both finished in a sunburst. Sonny has long been known by his nickname, “Chief,” and both the peghead and the fingerboard inlays are styled in an arrowhead design.

Sonny also markets a high end, professional grade banjo of his own, known as The Chief. It is made in the US from what Sonny deems to be the best materials available, and sells for nearly $5,000. The Recording King banjos are made in China, though designed by US banjo experts like Greg Rich and Scott Zimmerman.

No pricing information for The Scout is given on the Recording King site, but we will update here as soon as we obtain that information. The RK banjos typically sell between $1,000 and $2,500.

Detailed specs can be found online.

UPDATE 10:00 a.m.: The Osborne Scout retails for $2295, with hard shell case and limited lifetime warranty.

The setting for the Banjo Retreat is the stunning 1865 Drouillard House and its surrounding grounds and The Mad Platter, an acclaimed Nashville restaurant, caters the event.

“While we try to get the best teachers and players we can each year, the Drouillard House and the food are probably what keep people coming back. I’ve taught at most banjo camps across the country, and I’ll proudly admit that I think the comfort level of our camp is second to none. And that creates a relaxing atmosphere for folks to have a great weekend.

We’re also excited about Kristin Scott-Benson being with us. She’s one of our favorite players and people and her playing and teaching are going to bowl people over!”

Small group classes, faculty concerts, jamming and a wide choice of electives highlight this year’s class offerings, with a special emphasis this year on double banjo playing, in honor of Tony’s CD, Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular.

Folks do seem to come back year after year – this year’s camp sold out in early June. As a special added feature for 2007, Munde, Evans and Luberecki will perform at the Station Inn on Thursday night, October 18th at 8 p.m., backed by guitarist Tim May, fiddler Megan Lynch, mandolin player Roland White and bassist Jon Weisberger.

If you want to get in on the NashCamp experience, reservations will be accepted for the 2008 event on January 2, 2008.

This concert was part of a European tour with Bill Monroe, and the accompanying liner notes from Sonny and Bobby describe bus travel with the Father of Bluegrass.

“While traveling, everyone wore just plain old riding clothes and such, but not Mr. Monroe. His traveling uniform was a suit and tie, along with his hat, which I thought was strange, but that was Monroe. Our only transportation was two small and I mean small, vans in which to carry two complete bands.”

The Osborne’s band at the time included Terry Eldridge on guitar/vocals and Terry Smith on bass – both currently members of The Grascals – and Steve Thomas on fiddle, along with Bobby and Sonny Osborne.

This live set includes two audio CDs, and a DVD video of the show. The audio has been painstakingly remastered, produced and overseen by Sonny Osborne with John Eberle of Americana Mastering. The DVD is included, despite the fact that it was not professionally recorded, because it is one of the few video recordings on the band from that era.

Many Osborne Brothers favorites are on tap: Kentucky, Listening To The Rain, Georgia Mules and Country Boys, Midnight Flyer, Tennessee Hound Dog and – of course – Rocky Top.

Pinecastle has The Osborne Brothers: Live In Germany scheduled for release on April 3, 2007.

The video clip runs about a minute and a half, and a tab for the song is presented on the Gibson site along with the video.

Mandolin Cafe has published a press release from Gibson that promises more online lessons from Gibson artists, but it isn’t clear whether there will be any new content, or simply video and tab samples from commercially available DVD releases.