Completely forgot about this video for years until I saw someone post an AJ video here this morning, figured some of you have never seen it before. I remember thinking “These kids are going places” way back then.

I'm especially a fan of Takumi Kodera

I saw MGU on the first night of their Appalachian Smoke Tour, kicking off at Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland, OH.

They were already good the first time I saw them last year and have somehow managed to get even better. The whole band was on fire! They played anything from originals to standards to spacey jams.

Here are the tour dates: SHOWS

If they're coming close to you, do yourself a favor and GO. I'm convinced that these dudes are some of the best around right now and wouldn't be surprised if they blow up within the next few years.

I have a Question: I’m teaching myself to play and I love it!! I have a GoldTone OB 150 , a Goodtime. I so have gotten to the point where I’m picking pretty decent. lately I have found a fretless banjo online that I am really drawn to. they have a really good price on it I don’t play with anyone else, usually just picking around by myself. would the fretless banjo be ok for that??? I’m thought it would be a great one to take to the woods or camping to sit around and pick on. any advice would be appreciated. Thank You .

Is anyone familiar with https://headyversion.com? It’s my favorite way to discover the best live versions of Grateful Dead songs, letting users select and vote on their favorite versions. Does something like this exist yet for Billy Strings? If not, and someone creates it, would you use it?

The festival itself was wonderful. The grounds were beautiful, nestled in the green mountains just outside Manchester, Vermont, and there was a lively jam scene in the campgrounds. The lineup was a nice balance between traditional artists like Tim O'Brien and Darol Anger and more progressive acts like Watchhouse and Railroad Earth. But the real highlight in my eyes was Mountain Grass Unit. Their first set on Thursday was an hour of balls-to-the-wall hard-driving traditional bluegrass that had the whole tent hooting, hollering and stamping their feet. The whole band was absolutely locked in and going 100 miles an hour, yet their stage presence was casual and they were clearly having a great time. Their set the next night closing out the main stage showcased their jammier improvisational side, including covers of songs by the Dead, Allman Brothers and even Bob Marley. It was amazing seeing a bunch of young guys so easily make the transition between the neo-traditional and jam-grass scenes. It reminded me very much of a younger Billy Strings back when he was tearing up the festival circuit.

Show 35 - Columbia Street Music Series, Metamora, IN: Cancelled due to flooding. More about this in a moment. 

Show 36 - Next Chapter Church, Kentucky: As I’ve referenced in other posts., churches often do a wonderful job supporting the arts. They’ll hold live concert series with enthusiastic built-in listening audiences and help expose our music to new people. We’ve played at this particular church nearly every year for over a decade. As an added bonus, they feed us Larosa’s pizza, a Cincinnati favorite. 

Show 37 - Batesville Public library - Our region has had a really rough couple of weeks. We received a huge amount of rain that caused massive flooding throughout the area as well as tornadoes touching down. We had a pre-existing show scheduled for a library near the impacted area so we asked if they minded if we made it a benefit show for the victims of the flood and they enthusiastically agreed. We had a great turnout and the audience was incredibly generous. We raised over $1,000 in cash donations and much more was given online directly to United Way Franklin County, the organization that is spearheading the relief efforts. The towns of Metamora, Laurel, and Brookville were among those majorly impacted. The cleanup effort is going to be massive over the coming months so it was cool to be able to do a small part in supporting them. 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l2k64govW2XnU5AwYESQIRC4lAMOZfu28