The 2022 Banjo Gathering in Baltimore, Maryland was held at the historic Peale Museum. We held this year's Gathering in Baltimore in order to recognize the city's role in banjo manufacturing, the early presence of banjos in the Chesapeake region, and how the enduring consequences of enslavement shapes our understanding of banjo history.
The Gathering consists of three full days of presentations, exhibitions, and a banjo marketplace for studying, buying, selling, and trading historical and vintage banjos, parts, and related items. We also have banjos from some of world’s finest instrument makers available to view and buy/trade.
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.
The Gathering consists of three full days of presentations, exhibitions, and a banjo marketplace for studying, buying, selling, and trading historical and vintage banjos, parts, and related items. We also have banjos from some of world’s finest instrument makers available to view and buy/trade.
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.
Some of the 2022 Banjo Gathering Presentations:
The Banjo Project Digital Museum Launch & 25 Years of Banjo GatheringFollowing a presentation on the Banjo Project Digital Museum by Marc Fields, Greg Adams will moderate "25 Years of Banjo Gathering: Banjos on Display" with Gerard de Smaele, Peter Szego, Jim Bollman, and Marc Fields. Presented at the 25th Annual Banjo Gathering in Baltimore, Maryland in 2022.
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Early Baltimore Banjo ManufacturersPete Ross and Greg Adams will revisit the Baltimore Museum of Industry exhibit on William Boucher and what we've learned about Baltimore banjo manufacturers since then.
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Downright Divisive: Examining the Early Banjo in Colonial JamaicaRyan Dooley's presentation will explore causalities that led to the creation of the Jamaican banza. It will also investigate who played the instrument and the positive and negative consequences of adding this new instrument into music making in colonial Jamaica.
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The Lower Four Chords Mystery: Contextualizing Thomas Jefferson’s Banjar on the Road to Blackface MinstrelsyMichael Wright will discuss the historical background of Thomas Jefferson’s 1781 outline of banjo history in relation to its African associations, the New and Old World Atlantic slave trades, and the English guitar. It then connects Jefferson’s interest in banjos to the emerging post-Revolutionary American identity that created Blackface Minstrelsy. All Content Copyright of the Author.
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Old Slack's Black Banjo Players“Banjo Comique” Ike Simond’s Old Slacks Reminiscence and Pocket History of the Colored Profession written in the 1890s identifies more than twenty Black late nineteenth century show business banjo entertainers. What can we learn about these banjoists that contributes to a more rounded picture of African American banjo playing?
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A New Old Gourd Banjo: The Mysterious Instrument in LyonJust before the Banjo Gathering 2021, Pete Ross received an email from a curator in Paris about a possible new old early gourd banjo in a collection in Lyon. The photos were intriguing enough that we needed to examine it. Pete Ross and Kristina Gaddy's presentation will share photos of the banjo, why we believe it to be a banjo, and the provenance as we understand it today.
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Presentations & Panels
*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
** Open to the public but additional registration required
^ Available as part of the Virtual Gathering
** Open to the public but additional registration required
^ Available as part of the Virtual Gathering
Thursday, November 3rd, 2022
9:00 AM-2:00 PM -- SET UP @ The Peale
2:00 PM-2:45 PM -- Downright Divisive: Examining the Early Banjo in Colonial Jamaica ^- by Ryan Dooley - This presentation explores causalities that led to the creation of the early Jamaican banjo. It will also investigate who played the instrument and the positive and negative consequences of adding this new instrument into music making in colonial Jamaica.
3:00 PM-3:45 PM -- “…increase and diminish the tone”: The Banjolin as Instrument of Control^ - by Lee Bidgood - Ca. 1900 innovations in fretted instrument design included many hybrids or adaptations of the banjo. This presentation examines mandolin-banjo hybrids from this period, attending to the ways instruments represent and resound race, and the ways that social control is represented and sounded in the construction and use of our musical equipment.
4:00 PM-4:45 PM -- The Lower Four Chords Mystery: Contextualizing Thomas Jefferson’s Banjar on the Road to Blackface Minstrelsy^ - Michael Wright - This presentation explores the historical background of Thomas Jefferson’s 1781 outline of banjo history in relation to its African associations, the New and Old World Atlantic slave trades, and the English guitar. It then connects Jefferson’s interest in banjos to the emerging post-Revolutionary American identity that created Blackface Minstrelsy.
7:00 PM-7:20 PM -- The Banjo Project Digital Museum Launch with Marc Fields^ - Learn about the Banjo Project Digital Museum's past and future.
7:20 PM-8:30 PM - 25 Years of Banjo Gathering: Banjos on Display with Gerard de Smaele, Peter Szego, Jim Bollman, Marc Fields^ - Greg Adams will facilitate a discussion of banjo exhibits over the last twenty-five years.
8:30 PM-11:00 PM - Reception & Social*
9:00 AM-2:00 PM -- SET UP @ The Peale
2:00 PM-2:45 PM -- Downright Divisive: Examining the Early Banjo in Colonial Jamaica ^- by Ryan Dooley - This presentation explores causalities that led to the creation of the early Jamaican banjo. It will also investigate who played the instrument and the positive and negative consequences of adding this new instrument into music making in colonial Jamaica.
3:00 PM-3:45 PM -- “…increase and diminish the tone”: The Banjolin as Instrument of Control^ - by Lee Bidgood - Ca. 1900 innovations in fretted instrument design included many hybrids or adaptations of the banjo. This presentation examines mandolin-banjo hybrids from this period, attending to the ways instruments represent and resound race, and the ways that social control is represented and sounded in the construction and use of our musical equipment.
4:00 PM-4:45 PM -- The Lower Four Chords Mystery: Contextualizing Thomas Jefferson’s Banjar on the Road to Blackface Minstrelsy^ - Michael Wright - This presentation explores the historical background of Thomas Jefferson’s 1781 outline of banjo history in relation to its African associations, the New and Old World Atlantic slave trades, and the English guitar. It then connects Jefferson’s interest in banjos to the emerging post-Revolutionary American identity that created Blackface Minstrelsy.
7:00 PM-7:20 PM -- The Banjo Project Digital Museum Launch with Marc Fields^ - Learn about the Banjo Project Digital Museum's past and future.
7:20 PM-8:30 PM - 25 Years of Banjo Gathering: Banjos on Display with Gerard de Smaele, Peter Szego, Jim Bollman, Marc Fields^ - Greg Adams will facilitate a discussion of banjo exhibits over the last twenty-five years.
8:30 PM-11:00 PM - Reception & Social*
Friday, November 4th, 2022
10:00 AM-10:45 AM -- A New Old Gourd Banjo: The Mysterious Instrument in Lyon^ - by Kristina Gaddy and Pete Ross - Just before the Banjo Gathering 2021, Pete Ross received an email from a curator in Paris about a possible new old early gourd banjo in a collection in Lyon. The photos were intriguing enough that we needed to examine it. The presentation will share photos of the banjo, why we believe it to be a banjo, and the provenance as we understand it today.
11:00 AM-11:45 AM -- Old Slack's Black Banjo Players^ - by Tony Thomas - “Banjo Comique” Ike Simond’s Old Slacks Reminiscence and Pocket History of the Colored Profession written in the 1890s identifies more than twenty Black late nineteenth century show business banjo entertainers. What can we learn about these banjoists that contributes to a more rounded picture of African American banjo playing?
2:00 PM-3:30 PM -- Lester Levy Sheet Music Field Trip - Join us on a trip to the Lester Levy Sheet Music collection of the Johns Hopkins University. We'll be viewing some of the rare, early sheet music that pictures banjos and explore how banjos were depicted on sheet music covers into the 20th century at the Peabody Library.
3:30 PM-4:30 PM -- Peer into Private Collections -- Banjo Related Sheet Music^ - Banjo Gathering attendees will share rare gems from their sheet music collections.
10:00 AM-10:45 AM -- A New Old Gourd Banjo: The Mysterious Instrument in Lyon^ - by Kristina Gaddy and Pete Ross - Just before the Banjo Gathering 2021, Pete Ross received an email from a curator in Paris about a possible new old early gourd banjo in a collection in Lyon. The photos were intriguing enough that we needed to examine it. The presentation will share photos of the banjo, why we believe it to be a banjo, and the provenance as we understand it today.
11:00 AM-11:45 AM -- Old Slack's Black Banjo Players^ - by Tony Thomas - “Banjo Comique” Ike Simond’s Old Slacks Reminiscence and Pocket History of the Colored Profession written in the 1890s identifies more than twenty Black late nineteenth century show business banjo entertainers. What can we learn about these banjoists that contributes to a more rounded picture of African American banjo playing?
2:00 PM-3:30 PM -- Lester Levy Sheet Music Field Trip - Join us on a trip to the Lester Levy Sheet Music collection of the Johns Hopkins University. We'll be viewing some of the rare, early sheet music that pictures banjos and explore how banjos were depicted on sheet music covers into the 20th century at the Peabody Library.
3:30 PM-4:30 PM -- Peer into Private Collections -- Banjo Related Sheet Music^ - Banjo Gathering attendees will share rare gems from their sheet music collections.
7:00 PM - 25th Annual Banjo Gathering Concert at the Creative Alliance**^
Banjo Diasporas & Keepers of the Flame hosted by Tony Trischka
with Cynthia Sayer, Amadou Kouyate, Brad Kolodner, Justin Golden, Grace van’t Hof, Aaron Jonah Lewis, Mike Weatherly & Jordon Stanley
Banjo Diasporas & Keepers of the Flame hosted by Tony Trischka
with Cynthia Sayer, Amadou Kouyate, Brad Kolodner, Justin Golden, Grace van’t Hof, Aaron Jonah Lewis, Mike Weatherly & Jordon Stanley
Saturday, November 5th, 2022
10:00 AM-10:45 AM -- Early Baltimore Banjo Manufacturers^ - Pete Ross and Greg Adams will revisit the Baltimore Museum of Industry exhibit on William Boucher and what we've learned about Baltimore banjo manufacturers since then.
11:00 AM-12:30 PM -- Historic Banjo Walking Tour** - Kristina Gaddy and Pete Ross will lead a walking tour along Baltimore Street, once home to Baltimore's early instrument manufactures and dealers, theaters, and sheet music sellers. Please note: this is a 1.5 hr walk, but only covers a distance of about 5 blocks and is open to the public with additional RSVP (no Banjo Gathering registration needed). Click here for the walking tour map and here for a PDF with images and text.
2:45 PM-3:30 PM -- Alfred Weaver: Stradivari of the Banjo^ - by John Cohen - Alfred Weaver was the most significant English banjo maker of the 19th and 20th centuries and produced some of the finest banjos ever made, but today he is little known outside a small circle of enthusiasts. This presentation aims to rectify this by summarizing his life, work, and influence, and cover the construction and evolution of his instruments in fine detail to inform prospective collectors and players.
3:45 PM-4:30 PM --1000 Banjos a Year: Incorporating Lean Manufacturing Techniques Into Modern Banjo Production^ - by Patrick Sawyer - Have you ever wondered what banjo manufacturing was like 100+years ago? Patrick David Sawyer will discuss banjo manufacturing techniques used in the Pisgah Banjo Factory and compare them to banjos being built around the turn of the last century as well as discuss lean manufacturing and how it is incorporated into modern banjo production. He will also compare the banjo industry by the numbers then vs. now.
4:45 PM-5:30 PM -- Packing & Shipping Instruments^ - Bob Smakula of Smakula Fretted Instruments will provide an overview of what to do (and what NOT to do) when packing and shipping banjos.
7:30 PM-8:15 PM -- How Banjo Techniques Were Applied to Guitar^ - This panel discussion exploring the application of Black American's banjo techniques to the guitar. In discussing and reflecting on the guitar styles of artists such as the Reverend Gary Davis, the panelists will discuss the ways in which "clawhammer" and other techniques can be recognized in the guitar playing of early blues and ragtime musicians.
8:30 PM - 11:00 PM -- Social*
10:00 AM-10:45 AM -- Early Baltimore Banjo Manufacturers^ - Pete Ross and Greg Adams will revisit the Baltimore Museum of Industry exhibit on William Boucher and what we've learned about Baltimore banjo manufacturers since then.
11:00 AM-12:30 PM -- Historic Banjo Walking Tour** - Kristina Gaddy and Pete Ross will lead a walking tour along Baltimore Street, once home to Baltimore's early instrument manufactures and dealers, theaters, and sheet music sellers. Please note: this is a 1.5 hr walk, but only covers a distance of about 5 blocks and is open to the public with additional RSVP (no Banjo Gathering registration needed). Click here for the walking tour map and here for a PDF with images and text.
2:45 PM-3:30 PM -- Alfred Weaver: Stradivari of the Banjo^ - by John Cohen - Alfred Weaver was the most significant English banjo maker of the 19th and 20th centuries and produced some of the finest banjos ever made, but today he is little known outside a small circle of enthusiasts. This presentation aims to rectify this by summarizing his life, work, and influence, and cover the construction and evolution of his instruments in fine detail to inform prospective collectors and players.
3:45 PM-4:30 PM --1000 Banjos a Year: Incorporating Lean Manufacturing Techniques Into Modern Banjo Production^ - by Patrick Sawyer - Have you ever wondered what banjo manufacturing was like 100+years ago? Patrick David Sawyer will discuss banjo manufacturing techniques used in the Pisgah Banjo Factory and compare them to banjos being built around the turn of the last century as well as discuss lean manufacturing and how it is incorporated into modern banjo production. He will also compare the banjo industry by the numbers then vs. now.
4:45 PM-5:30 PM -- Packing & Shipping Instruments^ - Bob Smakula of Smakula Fretted Instruments will provide an overview of what to do (and what NOT to do) when packing and shipping banjos.
7:30 PM-8:15 PM -- How Banjo Techniques Were Applied to Guitar^ - This panel discussion exploring the application of Black American's banjo techniques to the guitar. In discussing and reflecting on the guitar styles of artists such as the Reverend Gary Davis, the panelists will discuss the ways in which "clawhammer" and other techniques can be recognized in the guitar playing of early blues and ragtime musicians.
8:30 PM - 11:00 PM -- Social*
Sunday, November 6th, 2022
9:00 AM-1:00PM -- Clean Up at The Peale
11:00 AM-3:00PM -- Open House Brunch (details forthcoming)
9:00 AM-1:00PM -- Clean Up at The Peale
11:00 AM-3:00PM -- Open House Brunch (details forthcoming)
Virtual-Only Content^
(available online to all registered attendees)
The Boston BMG Factories Part 2 - by Shawn McSweeney - Journey back to the time when Vega and Fairbanks began operations. Learn about their several factory locations, Cummings and Dodge, details of the March 4, 1904 fire, and much more.
Hans Sloane and the Early Gourd Banjo in Jamaica: a Re-Assessment - Rory Corbett - This presentation will highlight the pivotal role which the banjo played as a spiritual and cultural tool for an enslaved African diaspora in colonial Jamaica (Obeah) and Haiti (Vodun), the presentation also explores the various ways in which Sloane drew upon and benefitted from the very same Afro-Creole and indigenous cultural practices and forms of knowledge that he would elsewhere dismiss as fancy. The connection between the musical instruments featured in Sloane's 1707 publication with the transcriptions of the songs “Angola,” “Papa,” and “Koromanti” provided to Sloane by a “Mr. Baptiste,” likely an Afro-Creole musician from Saint-Dominique (Dubois 2016; Lingold 2021) will also be given due attention here.
(available online to all registered attendees)
The Boston BMG Factories Part 2 - by Shawn McSweeney - Journey back to the time when Vega and Fairbanks began operations. Learn about their several factory locations, Cummings and Dodge, details of the March 4, 1904 fire, and much more.
Hans Sloane and the Early Gourd Banjo in Jamaica: a Re-Assessment - Rory Corbett - This presentation will highlight the pivotal role which the banjo played as a spiritual and cultural tool for an enslaved African diaspora in colonial Jamaica (Obeah) and Haiti (Vodun), the presentation also explores the various ways in which Sloane drew upon and benefitted from the very same Afro-Creole and indigenous cultural practices and forms of knowledge that he would elsewhere dismiss as fancy. The connection between the musical instruments featured in Sloane's 1707 publication with the transcriptions of the songs “Angola,” “Papa,” and “Koromanti” provided to Sloane by a “Mr. Baptiste,” likely an Afro-Creole musician from Saint-Dominique (Dubois 2016; Lingold 2021) will also be given due attention here.
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