UK Bluegrass has Sore Fingers
Our friends at UKBluegrass.com just let us know that they have posted to their blog an interview with John and Moira Wirtz who organize Europe’s largest bluegrass/old time music camp, Sore Fingers. The camp has been running each year since 1996 and is scheduled for April 9-14, 2007 this year.
The interview is quite readable and contains a lot of background historical information about the camp. They also talk about the goals they have for the camp this year and in the future. And in describing the camp’s atmosphere, they bring up one of my favorite things about this music, the accessibility of the players.
The instructors for this year’s camp are some of the best players bluegrass music has to offer including, Janet Beazley, Noam Pikelny, Casey Driessen, Rob Ickes, John Lowell, Chris Stuart, and others.
"The event is up there with any other camp," says John, "but it’s uniquely British in the social aspect and the humour." Most of the tutors get stuck in to the socialising without difficulty, mingling in the bar and taking part in the sessions. "I love seeing the kids jamming with the tutors," says John.
What a great opportunity for these youngsters.
If you missed the last interview UKBluegrass.com posted you might want to check it out as well. It’s a good interview with current IBMA Board Chairman, Greg Cahill. You’ll find that interview here.


UKBluegrass.com has just published a lengthly post in which they interview banjo player Noam Pikelny. Noam was in the UK teaching at the Sore Fingers bluegrass instructional camp when they conducted the interview.
If you are interested in Noam's participation with Chris Thile and the newly unveiled...
Though the popular Sore Fingers bluegrass instructional camp in England won't be held until April of 2006, reports are that the slots are rapidly filling up. UK and European bluegrass pickers who want to take advantage of this highly regarded resource are encouraged to look into it right away before...
We just heard from our friend Chris Stuart, that he will be teaching the songwriting class at next April's Sore Fingers Summer School in England. The camp runs April 9-13, 2007 and is held at the Kingham Hill School, located on the borders of Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire.
In addition...
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...
Our friend Laura Leder from Cool Mandolin Company emailed recently to ask us to remind students of bluegrass and old time music - both here in the US, and in the UK and Europe - about Sore Fingers Week 2008.
The annual event will be held March 24-28 in Oxfordshire (UK), with classes offered in a...
We posted late last year when the 4th Annual American Banjo Camp began accepting registrations for this year. The three day workshop (September 8-10, 2006) offers intensive instruction in both bluegrass and old time banjo, and is held in Fort Flagler State Park, Nordland, Washington.
A recent note...




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