Next month, Smithsonian Folkways are to release “Just Around the Bend: Survival and Revival in Southern Banjo Sounds“. The 2CD/DVD set honours the life and legacy of Mike Seeger recorded months before his death in 2009, he would have been 86. It document’s Mike’s final trip through Appalachia in 2009, capturing regional banjo styles, techniques, and tunes.
A half-brother to Pete Seeger and sister to Peggy, Mike was not only a member of one of the most influential families in the history of American folk music he was also a musician, folklorist, and documentarian – much like John Cohen with whom he co-founded the New Lost City Ramblers along with Tom Paley in 1958 (John Cohen releases his new work “Speed Bumps on a Dirt Road: When Old Time Music Met Bluegrass this month – see our earlier article here).
Folkways say the release features musicians from many different backgrounds from throughout North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, and Tennessee. These virtuosic players, including Riley Bagus, Rhiannon Giddens, Leroy Troy, are modern-day torch-bearers for these musical traditions, displaying a wide range of techniques, styles, and songs that reinforce the importance of the banjo in American music and identity.
The double CD is accompanied by a film, shot by filmmaker Yasha Aginsky, which provides snapshots of the musicians themselves, featuring footage shot in homes, on front porches, and at jam sessions — the intimate gatherings where this music is most often found. Watch the trailer below:
Pre-Order: https://orcd.co/justaroundthebend