The 20th Anniversary Banjo Gathering
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The 20th Anniversary Banjo Gathering took place at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, Virginia, from November 1 to 4, 2018. Since 1998, the Banjo Gathering has been the platform for banjo collectors, researchers, instrument builders, and musicians to share new scholarship and findings about the banjo as a historical, cultural, and built object.
This year we celebrated with an anniversary concert, broadcasts on Radio Bristol, and our traditional community gathering with three days of presentations, exhibitions, and a banjo marketplace for studying, buying, selling, and trading historical and vintage banjos, parts, and related items, as well as banjos from some of today’s finest instrument makers. |
Videos of the 20th Anniversary Banjo Gathering Concert
Schedule
Thursday, November 1*
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9:00am-2:00pm
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Exhibit space set up at Birthplace of Country Music Museum (BCMM)
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2:00-4:00 pm
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Explore BCMM with curator-guided tour
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4:00-7:00 pm
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Dinner Break
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7:00-7:30 pm
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Welcome, Organizer Announcements, and Introductions
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7:30-8:00 pm
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A Digital Museum for Banjo History: New Opportunities for Curating Cultural Heritage by Marc Fields
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8:00-8:45 pm
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Banjo Roots and Branches Panel with Bob Winans and contributors including Chuck Levy, Pete Ross, George Gibson, Greg Adams, Tony Thomas
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9:00-11:00 pm
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Social**
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Friday, November 2
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8:00am
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BCMM opens to Gathering attendees
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9:oo-9:45 am
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The Banjo in America’s Square Dance Revival (1930s-’50s) by John Hoft
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10:oo-10:45 am
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Working the Root: Contemporary Banjo Music as Conjure by Jake Blount
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11:oo-11:45 am
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Traditions and Transformations: The Banjo Speaks by Dena Jennings and Greg Adams
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12:oo-2:00 pm
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Lunch Break
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2:oo-2:45 pm
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Dixie Dewdrop: Uncle Dave Macon’s Banjos by Michael Doubler
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3:oo-3:45 pm
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Vintage Banjos, Provenance, and Performance Panel with Cathy Fink and Bill Evans
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4:oo-4:45 pm
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Playing Banya by Kristina Gaddy and Pete Ross
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5:oo-8:00 pm
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Dinner Break
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8:oo-10:00 pm
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The Banjo Gathering 20th Anniversary Concert featuring Adam Hurt, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, Bill Evans, Bob Carlin, George Gibson, Jake Blount, Aaron Jonah Lewis, and Greg Adams.
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Saturday, November 3
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8:oo am
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BCMM opens to Gathering attendees
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10:oo-10:45 am
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Hula Dreams: The Influence of the 5-String Banjo on Classic Hawaiian Music by Michael Wright
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11:oo-11:45 am
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Stinson, Eas(t)on, and Lowry: Late 19th & Early 20th Century Show Business Banjoists by Tony Thomas
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12:oo-2:00 pm
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Lunch Break
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2:00-2:45 pm
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Current State of Banjo Building and Sales Panel
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3:00-3:45 pm
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Unusual S.S. Stewart Banjos: The Early Years by Joe Hornung and Norm Peterson
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4:00-4:45 pm
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A Banjo Factory in the Bronx? New Findings About John Henry Buckbee by Reginald W. Bacon
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5:00-7:00 pm
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Dinner Break
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7:00-7:45 pm
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A Bang Or A Whimper: 19th Century Banjo Legacies in Commercial Country Recordings from the ‘Big Bang’ in Bristol and Beyond by Christian Stanfield
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8:00-8:45 pm
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Fisher Hendley: Recording and Radio Pioneer Update by Bob Carlin
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9:00-11:00 pm
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Social**
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Sunday, November 4
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8:00-11:00 am
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Clean up at BCMM
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1:00-4:00 pm
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Uncle Dave Macon talk at BCMM by Michael Doubler
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**Throughout the day and evening, there will be time between presentations for conversation and jamming, as well as viewing, trading, or purchasing banjos, other instruments, and banjo-related ephemera.
* Early-bird and other activities to consider in the area: Bristol’s historic and walkable downtown; Steele Creek Park in Bristol, TN; Sugar Hollow Park in Bristol, VA; Osceola Island (near South Holston Dam about 15 minutes from town); Virginia Creeper Trail in Abingdon, VA; Paramount Center for the Arts; Abingdon Barter Theater (state theater of VA) and William King Museum of Art; Gray Fossil Site in Gray, TN; Rocky Mount Historic Site; Reece Museum at Eastern Tennessee State University.
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