Sidemen Reunion Show

Last night I went to the Station Inn to watch and take part in the special Sidemen Reunion show that was being held in conjunction with the IBMA convention this week. The Sidemen were, as the name suggests, players who worked as side musicians in other bluegrass bands. They played at the Station Inn every…

Picking in the Gazebo

Last Saturday I had a good time playing music with family and friends in the gazebo. And, you may ask, just where is that particular gazebo? Well, it's some distance from here. It's on the town square in Clarkesville, Georgia. And, in spite of some rain, we all had a good time. The band for…

Catch the Bee-Liners Live Online Today

Today kicks off the week-long International Bluegrass Music Association Trade Show and Fan Fest in Nashville, Tenn. In conjunction with this WAMU's Bluegrass Country is broadcasting live from Nashville. The Dixie Bee-Liners (with Casey Henry on banjo) will be playing some tunes from 5:00-5:30 Eastern Time this afternoon. You can listen online at bluegrasscountry.org. If…

Intersection of Square Dancing and Banjo Playing

I thought I’d ease back into the blogging groove by trying to find some connection between my latest passion—square dancing (been at it a year now!)—and banjo playing. We started a new square dancing class in Winchester last week (first two classes FREE! Y’all come!) and four of my students earned stars in their crowns…

See Casey on Music City Roots Tonight!

Tonight at 7:00 central/8:00 eastern you'll have the chance to watch and/or listen to me play live with the Dixie Bee-Liners on the Music City Roots radio show, which is held at the Loveless Cafe Barn in Nashville, Tenn., and broadcast on WSM (wsmonline.com). They also stream live video at musiccityroots.com, so you can see…

Are You Playing the Song Together? — Or Just “at the Same Time”?

The title for this blog may seem strange, but it's pretty important. As I mentioned before, Christopher and I played a party Saturday night before last, and we had two fine musicians with us-- Mike Munford and Ira Gitlin. All four of us fit together perfectly, and our band dynamics-- making the instrument leads stand…

“When Should I Change My Strings?”

"When should I change my strings?" That's a question we often hear. New strings usually sound better, but there are as many answers to this question as there are musicians. Some things that you can consider are: 1. There's no 'official' time to change strings. I used to change the strings on two guitars and…

I Will Still Remember You

I think if I post just one more blog about Mama I can then move on to more banjo related subjects. Thanks for your understanding. This is a poem my niece Natalie wrote about Mama, her grandmother. (Natalie is the younger sister of Caroline whose essay about Mama I posted earlier.) Nat wrote this last…

Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass

Y'all may or may not have heard this, but last week the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass was awarded to Noam Pikelny. The prize, which I was not aware existed---indeed very few people knew it existed since this is the first time its been given out---consisted of an unrestricted cash prize…

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My…

You know, there are some things in early bluegrass recordings that are impossible to beat. One of our favorites is on Flatt and Scruggs's early version of Foggy Mountain Breakdown, where the whole band (except for Earl) is playing the "wrong" chord. Let's review the chords in FMB: you start out with eight beats of…