It was the third weekend in May, and so I was back at the Ozark Folk Center for Thumbpicking Weekend. Jam sessions with the weekend’s featured artists are all part of the fun.
I can’t tell you how much fun it was to pick and sing Shanty in Old Shanty Town and I Am a Pilgrim with these fine folks.
At Saturday’s jam, I met a 12-year-old picker who I think will make a name for himself some day.
Moving to Oklahoma meant being separated from my friends in Indiana by many, many miles. During the seven years we lived there, I made lots of musical friends, including members of The Champions. We were spread out before, but at least we all lived in the same state.
I miss playing with these guys. Our last show together was part of the Otterbein Community Concert Series. Maggie, also called When You and I Were Young, is a staple for The Champions. It seems like we don’t get together without that wonderful old tune coming out.
Here’s the rendition of Maggie that we did for the Otterbein Series.
Last fall, a delegation from the Disciples of Christ in the Democratic Republic of Congo visited Indiana. It was my honor on several occasions during their visit to make music with Rev. Ilumbe and Oscar. This occasion was filmed in the studio of DisciplesNet Church and featured in their worship.
Join in a song with sweet accord, And thus surround the throne. That text concludes the first verse of Come We That Love the Lord, a hymn text written by Isaac Watts in the early 18th century. Watts (1674-1748) has been … Continue reading
I first heard this song when I got my copy of Doc and Merle Watson’s Watson Country CD. Well, then our niece and her husband had their second child and decided to name her Sadie Ruth.
Continue readingPicking the Faith features Travis-style thumbpick guitar, and so it only seemed appropriate to include a Merle Travis song or two on the album. The album contains Preacher Lane, a song from Merle’s Songs of the Coal Mines album.
Continue readingThis is my brief thumbpicking tribute to Andy Griffith.
Continue readingIn the spring of 1979, the University of Kentucky Choristers began an annual reactment of a Shaker worship service at the Shaker village at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky. I was blessed to be part of that first group, and the Shaker … Continue reading
I recorded this bluegrass gospel standard for the online worship service (July 24, 2011) of DisciplesNet Church. The history of the song is unclear to me, but I’m using most of the Stanley Brothers lyrics in this version. … Continue reading
This was recorded during the finals of the National Thumbpicking Guitar Contest at Mountain View, Ark., on May 12, 2012. The contest is part of Thumbpicking Weekend, an annual tribute to Merle Travis at the Ozark Folk Center. … Continue reading