-Local duo Captain Bob Griffin and Linda Wade, guitar, vocals and concertina, finishing up a charming collection of ‘Old Chestnuts’. Great songs from the 20s and 30s, augmented with some New England folk music favorites feature their warm vocal blend and Bob’s chiming 12-string guitar interwoven with Linda’s delicate and inventive concertina.
-Emery Hutchins has been working on a project featuring the music of Two Old Friends (full disclosure: the other ‘friend’ is your truly). I’m absolutely delighted with the sound I got on Hutch’s antique concertinas, and the new Peluso P-28 mic (which I’ve been using with great success on fiddle) shone on his clawhammer banjo. This new Peluso mic also brought the best out of my 1936 Larson Bros. Euphonon mandola, which always sounded a bit dry and overly percussive on standard small-diaphragm mics.
-Owen Marshall, in my estimation one of the finest Irish-style guitarists anywhere, has been laying down some beautiful tracks for an eventual solo project. He’s playing DADGAD guitar, tenor guitar, bouzouki, mandolin and banjo creating a dazzling tapestry of string-y Celtic delight. I’ll soon post his perfect tribute to Kevin Burke and Michael O’Domhnaill’s ‘Lucy’s Fling’ set from the iconic (there’s that word again) Portland album.