A reprint from the Weber Mandolin blog published May 3, 2020, authored by Michael Eck.

Lady Moon with her Weber sopranino.

On November 27, 1970, British folk rock paragons Pentangle released their fourth album, Cruel Sister. The title track, a haunting meditation on an ancient Northumbrian murder ballad, was tinged with sitar from fingerstyle master John Renbourn and graced with a mournful, exquisitely detached vocal from London chanteuse Jacqui McShee.

Fifty years later, on March 24, 2020, Lady Moon posted a YouTube performance of the song, funneling history down through the ages, and, directly inspired by McShee and company, through the decades.

In the mesmerizing clip, Lady Moon begins, too, with fingerpicking, a hypnotic pattern underpinning her own equally haunting meditation. She's playing a 22"-scale mahogany-backed Weber Bitterroot octave mandolin, and when she digs in with the pick, the rendition begins to take on a certain thunder. At the midpoint, it just explodes, with notes and double stops pouring out of the instrument in a flurry worthy of Pentangle's late Bert Jansch or his brilliant contemporary ...

SAN FRANCISCO — The California Bluegrass Association (CBA) has announced the launch of Turn Your Radio OnLINE, a webcast series starting Saturday, May 23, 2020 at 6 p.m. Pacific Time, and continuing each Saturday through June 20. This new online music event is inspired by the CBA's annual Father’s Day Festival, held in Grass Valley, California, since 1975.

The lineup includes nationally known and popular California bands performing online from their "shelter in place" locations ...

It's been an unusual spring in central Texas. The bluebonnets came early and the clubs closed down. Mandolinist Kym Warner has had time to contemplate, in the literal and figurative senses of that phrase — meaning he's had the hours to fill and the opportunity to think.

Between work with Robert Earl Keen's touring band and a full plate of local bluegrass pickup gigs, the Australian expatriate was looking at a packed calendar. Instead, he's hunkered down in Austin with his wife, Greencards co-founder Carol Young, and their dog, Bentley. As Warner noted in a recent Mandolin Cafe roundup of musicians sharing their pandemic experiences—he's kept busy by writing originals, arranging covers, sussing out gear and doing some remote recording.
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POMONA, CALIF. — Eastman Guitars and Mandolins has announced their "Tip to Win" promotion in support of working musicians and the company has shared the following:

It's a challenging time and hardworking artists are in need of your support more than ever.

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BOSTON — Julian Pinelli and Ethan Setiawan have announced the release of a new EP on Bandcamp today entitled More of the Same, a follow-up to their self-titled 2016 release.

About the EP, Ethan Setiawan told us, "It's always a joy to get to play music ...

Mandolinist Jack Dunlap has announced a May 6 release of his solo recording The Isolation Sessions, available or pre-order now.

About the recording, Dunlap told us, "Only recently did the thought of doing a solo mandolin album pop into my mind. I had tossed the idea around about ...

While musicians saw summer tours, gigs and teaching opportunities at camps and workshops go by the wayside during the Cornavirus Pandemic, retailers and builders fared no better. Forced to close shop or operate with limited capacity — though some may soon re-open on a limited basis — the damage continues.

We asked a group of prominent retailers and builders from across the U.S. (large and small) to weigh in and share their perspective.

This is their story.
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HAMBURG, GERMANY — Florian Klaus Rumpf has announced the pending publication of A Year with Raffaele Calace, the contents of which can be acquired during its writing through the popular crowdsourcing site Ko-fi.

About the new book, Rumpf said, "A Year with Raffaele Calace is a project I have been carrying ...

ChoroMusic.com, the worldwide reference in play-along songbooks of Brazilian instrumental music has announced the release of Jacob do Bandolim 2 - 2nd Edition, the newest addition to their series "Classics of the Brazilian Choro - You are the Soloist!"

The 2nd Edition includes the following improvements:

• Bass line transcribed in bass clef in all scores.
• Re recordings of "Eu e Você" and "Vascaíno" in the original keys
• Changed instrumentation of some

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Despite current situation, committee is "optimistic" the camp will take place Oct. 1-4, 2020.

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — Limited Registration has begun for the Great Lakes Music Camp (GLMC), a four-day acoustic music symposium held at Camp Blodgett (West Olive, Mich.) October 1-4, 2020.

Great Lakes Music Executive Director, Jason Wheeler noted, "Despite our current situation across the country, we are maintaining a cautious optimism that this year's camp will be held in October and that our social distancing measures will have paid off and resulted in enough time for our team to pull off yet another sold-out camp on Lake Michigan."

Early Bird Registration kicked off for previous year's campers on April 14. Several packages sold out in less than ...

NASHVILLE, TENN. — International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) award-winning instrumentalist Nate Lee, a renowned mandolin and violin educator has announced a June 12 release of his new recording Wings of a Jetliner on his own Adverb Records.

For this project Nate assembled an ...

For now, gone are the crowds, the flights, the bus rides, the sound checks, nightly meet and greets with fans, appearances at mandolin camps, catching up with family and friends between travel and the next gig and more.

We contacted a number of mandolin players that have made this work their calling and asked them to weigh in on how they're dealing with life during these unprecedented times. One, Andy Statman, is recovering along with his wife after both contracted the Coronavirus in late March.

The experiences and changes vary widely, and serve as a reminder that the journey will be different for each of us.

We thought it important to hear directly from the artists in their own words in a world where no one has been spared a major change. Next week we hope to do a similar report from a group of retailers and builders.

This is their story.
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SWEDEN — Award winning mandolinist and educator Magnus Zetterlund has announced the launch of Mandolin Secrets Academy, an online educational resource designed to provide an easy, fast and fun way to learn Jazz, Folk, Bluegrass styles and beyond.

One of the foremost mandolin players in the Scandinavian folk scene collaborating with top artists in Norway, Finland and Sweden, Zetterlund listed four key objectives for students in the design ...

KNOXVILLE, TENN. — Hailed as a major step in the evolution of pick technology by the music industry, BlueChip Picks has announced the introduction of a new line of eco-friendly, environmentally safe GreenChip Picks™.

Utilizing materials developed by scientists ...

LYONS, CO. — Colorado mandolinist, Dylan McCarthy has announced a May 1 release of his solo debut album entitled Lost & Found, a collection of original instrumental acoustic music.

Inspired by progressive bluegrass and new acoustic artists such as John Reischman, David Grisman, Matt Flinner and many others, McCarthy delivers a unique body of work centered around his expressive approach to the mandolin.

Lost & Found includes seven original compositions ...

BRUSSELS — Arcana Records has announced the release of Beethoven and his Contemporaries, by Neapolitan mandolinist Raffaele La Ragione and fortepianist Marco Crosetto.

Ludwig van Beethoven went to Prague for the first time in 1796, accompanying Prince Lichnowsky, who introduced him to the city's foremost aristocratic families. One of these was the Clam- Gallas family, who played an eminent role in musical circles.

It was here that Beethoven met Josephine Clary-Aldringen, ...

NASHVILLE, TENN. — Caleb Christopher Edwards has announced the release of his first full solo project entitled Metamorphosis.

About the recording Edwards told us, "Metamorphosis really started composing itself when I was 18. I was going through a lot of big changes, and I just did what I knew best to cope with the change. It ...

Sharon Gilchrist teaches you to play solos to any bluegrass song in any key.

FAIRFAX, CALIF. — Peghead Nation has announced the launch of Sharon Gilchrist's third course, Bluegrass Mandolin Fingerboard Method, now available to all subscribers.

In Bluegrass Mandolin Fingerboard Method students will learn to play solos to any ...

Don and Sam Bush with Jethro's famed red Gibson mandolin. Photo courtesy Ronnie McCoury.

Don Stiernberg

I owe an awful lot to Jethro Burns. Everything I've done professionally in my life was either taught to me by or inspired by him. Certainly, when playing, performing and teaching I'm still trying to follow his example. He also shared generously in the realm we might call "world view," realistic guidance on what to expect, how to interact with others, the pursuit of one's own identity and self confidence. He was as much a genius in those areas as he was with music. As Mr. Dawg once said, "he taught us all what to and what not to take seriously." How does one thank a guy like that? I'm not sure we can.
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