I'm back, tired (YOU BETCHA!) but happy. 900 mile each way, with no navigator or relief driver. I broke it into two days driving each way.

I arrived in the area Thursday, and went, as had been recommended, to Music Emporium, a great music store in Lexington, MA, run by Jim Bollman, one of the authors of "The Banjo In America" (I think that's the title). Great store, with lots of banjos, which I was invited to try, and to play to my heart's content. After dinner with Jim and several other early arrivers, I was treated to a tour of Jim Bollman's banjo collection, which is truly stupendous to see. Everywhere you would turn, there were banjos on the walls (I'm sure at least 200, maybe a lot more), along with banjo memorbilia, banjo toys, banjo advertisements, banjo statues, banjo jewelry, and banjo-whatnot-else. WOW!

This is Banjo Camp North's (BCN's) first year, and for a first-time effort was VERY well organized. Held at a religious-sponsored camp facility, the banjo camp occupied I think maybe 2/3 of the facility. There were some church groups there too, but we didn't see them much except in the dining hall.

This is not a festival; it's a school. The faculty includes a lot of nationally-known Old Time type as well as Bluegrass banjoists, as well as the "resident fiddler", Alan Jabbour, who is famous in those circles, and the "resident guitarist" John Rossbach. Some of the faculty were Mike Holmes and Ken Perlman, the organizers, Howie Bursten, Mac Benford, Bruck Molsky, Brad Leftwich, Dave Cannon, and Reed Martin on the O/T side; and a bunch of big names on the Bluegrass side of the house, names like Bill Keith, Bill Evans, Tony Trischka, Pete Wernick, Tony Ellis, Martin Grosswendt, Glenn Nelson, and Neil Rossi. Not fitting into those lineups was a Swedish banjoist/historian named Ulf Jagfors, lecturing on the West African roots of the banjo, and in particular the Akonting, which apparently is the direct banjo ancestor, with a convincing explanation of how it got to the New World.

I was told that there were about 170 students registered, of whom 30 were women. Students came from places as far as Sweden, London, and California.

Classes were held at a number of cabins and lodges on the facility, about 1-1/2 hours per class, starting Friday afternoon and running through Sunday mid-afternoon. Classes had subjects like Playing with a Fiddler, Old-Time Jamming, Designing Arrangements for Singing With The Banjo, Banjo Set-Up and Repair, Singing With the Banjo (Jam), and on and on. And a number of Bluegrass-type classes too.

Friday and Saturday evenings after supper there was a concert put on by faculty members. Then, about 9:00 PM, everybody went off to their choice of jam sessions, which ran well into the night. I concentrated on the singing-with-the-banjo jams. Went to bed at 2:00 AM Saturday AM because my singing jam had folded and I was too sleepy to join in the old-time jam with a fiddler and guitar going on downstairs in my dormitory building until about 3:00. I wimped out at midnight Sat/Sun because I really didn't want to go to sleep on the highway driving home Sunday. As it was, I did pull into a rest area for a half-hour nap Sunday afternoon.

I had a one-on-one "mentoring" session with Mike Holmes, the Director of the camp, who is a singer-with-banjo. He gave me three suggestions for improving my accompaniment technique, and I think they will be of great help.

I guess that's all I can dredge up to tell now.

Dave Oesterreich