New Acoustic Gallery concerts, 2009

Ana Vidovic: not a bluegrass guitar, but...

Oliver Waitze of the New Acoustic Gallery, Solingen, Germany, announces the Gallery's programme of concerts for the coming year:

08.03.2009: Ana Vidovic, superstar of the classical guitar! VV €30; AK €35
30.03.2009: The Krüger Brothers Band! VV €30; AK €35
02.06.2009: Joscho Stephan Trio & Richard Smith; VV €20; AK €25
31.10.2009: Duo (Trio) Vibracao featuring Max Schaaf; VV €18; AK €22
06.12.2009: Beppe Gambetta; VV €18; AK €22

Full details of performers are on the New Acoustic Gallery website.

The NAG's first Mandolin Festival is planned for the end of August/ early September 2009. More details will follow. For reservations and more info, telephone Oliver Waitze at +49 (0)212/2474007. Early reservations are advisable, as only 75 seats are available for each concert.

Places free in Mandolin Weekend Workshop

Oliver Waitze of the New Acoustic Gallery, Neuenhofer Str. 122, 42657 Solingen, Germany, invites intrepid mandolinists to jump on the Mando Express - two places are free in the Mandolin Weekend Workshop with J.P. Rübner which is just about to begin. Telephone: +49 0212/2474007.

FCMA award to Sierra Hull

Thanks to the Bluegrass Blog for the news that teenage mandolin prodigy Sierra Hull (USA) received on 27 September - coincidentally, it was her birthday - the Best Bluegrass Band award from the French Association of Country Music in the 6th French Country Music Awards. Also nominated were Rhonda Vincent, Becky Schlegel, and Dailey & Vincent.

Dobro workshop in France?

Rob Ickes reports that Three Ring Circle (Rob Ickes, dobro; Andy Leftwich, mandolin; Dave Pomeroy, bass) will be performing in Lunel, France, as part of the Mandolines de Lunel 2008 festival. The festival will be held from Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November.

Rob Ickes has won the IBMA Dobro Player of the Year Award nine times since 1996. Anyone interested in a dobro workshop in France, which would be scheduled during the latter part of October, should contact Rob by e-mail.

Punch Brothers in Ireland and Britain, 11-18 July

The Punch Brothers, led by mandolin wizard Chris Thile, will be playing in Europe for eight days in mid July 2008, beginning in Ireland at the Sugar Club, Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2, on 11 July. This will be followed by six shows in England and Scotland: at Bristol, Birmingham, London, Gateshead, Glasgow, and Manchester. Full details are on the Punch Brothers tour schedule.

Instrument workshops at the New Acoustic Gallery

Oliver Waitze of the New Acoustic Gallery in Solingen ('Home of Acoustic Music'), Germany, sends the Gallery's 2008 workshop schedule:

5-6 May: Blues and fingerstyle jazz guitar
Instructor: Felix Schell
Includes: Bossa Nova, swing, R&B, gypsy jazz, melodies, accompanying chords, intros, endings, improvisation, solo arrangements, various techniques...
Fee: €120

27–28 September: Fingerstyle DADGAD
Instructor: Pierre Bensusan
Includes: work on the following pieces - 'L’Alchimiste', 'Hymne 11', 'The day after the feast', tappings, harp effects, stretching chords, jazz and modal scales...
Fee: €195

24–26 October: Bluegrass mandolin weekend workshop
Instructor: Jesper Rübner-Petersen
Includes: Backup, fiddle tunes, bluegrass double stops...
Fee: €175

29 November: Flatpicking master technique
Instructor: Oliver Waitze
Includes: Crosspicking in the styles of Tony Rice & Clarence White, melodies, fiddle tunes, gourmet licks a la Tony Rice, right-hand exercises, typical bluegrass rhythm...
Fee: €90

All workshops are held at the New Acoustic Gallery, Solingen.
For details contact Oliver Waitze: tel. 0212/2474007; e-mail; website.

Coming gigs: Coppo-Dalla Vecchia

Roberto Dalla Vecchia reports that he'll be playing in sweet Switzerland again this coming weekend:

I'm really excited about it because I'll be playing these gigs with mandolin wizard Martino Coppo. He's been a guest musician in my previous CDs and I'm so happy about this musical partnership.

Sat. 28 Oct.: Restaurant Lerchenberg, Zurich. Info tel. +41 (0)44 271 5566

Sun. 29 Oct.: House Concert, Lausen BL. Info tel. 061 423 96 91; e-mail; Bluegrass in Basel

Hope to see you very soon,
Yours in Doc,
Roberto Dalla Vecchia
'Flatpicking Guitar with Italian Gusto!'
MySpace site

Adam Steffey DVD on Acutab

Acutab Publications announce the release of My approach to bluegrass mandolin, a new 2-DVD instructional set by Adam Steffey, IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year for each of the last five years.

On the first disc, Adam deals with and demonstrates rhythm playing, right-hand attack, note spacing, tone/volume, practising, and building speed. He then devotes some 45 minutes, using three common jam-session tunes, to showing how to build a mandolin solo, starting with the basic melody - in several different keys.

On the second disc, Adam teaches seven of his most requested solos. Each in turn is played with a band, broken down lick by lick, and then played (fast and slow) in a split-screen orientation. An accompanying printed booklet contains transcriptions for all solos, in both tab and standard notation.

Full playing time is four hours and twenty minutes. Full details are on the Acutab website. Acutab are also offering, at no extra charge, an autographed copy of an 11 in. x 17 in. (28 cm x 43.2 cm) colour poster, showing Adam with his Daley mandolin, for the first 300 customers placing an order through AcuTab. The Gibson company launched an Adam Steffey signature model mandolin in 2002.

Baldassari meets O'Carolan

One of the best modern American bluegrass mandolinists interprets one of the most distinguished composers in the history of Irish music - Butch Baldassari has released a new CD, Music of O'Carolan, Ireland's bard. The harpist Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738) was a prolific composer whose work, drawing on the aristocratic harp tradition on one hand, and influenced by contemporary Continental art music on the other, enriched Irish traditional music.

Baldassari presents twenty tunes, with himself on mandolin, mandola, and bouzouki, and John Mock on guitars, whistles, concertina, and harmonium. The CD can be bought for $15.00 at the SoundArt Recordings website.

'Doppelstopp' for mandolinists

Volker Dick, a qualified journalist and (in his own words) 'fanatic amateur mandolin player', publishes Doppelstopp, a German-language blog especially for bluegrass mandolin. Even if you don't speak or read German, check out the photos! Contact Volker by post - Bismarckstraße 1, 51643 Gummersbach, Germany - or e-mail. In addition to 'Doppelstopp', he also has a website.