The New American Banjo Festival

Saturday, April 24, 2021, 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm
Entrance to the festival is by donation. Please click the BUY TICKET link to register!

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Saturday, April 24, 2021

6 pm Video: The A.E. Smith Banjo Company, one of the first revival banjo manufacturing businesses, which was located in Franklin County, MA. A conversation with Kate Spencer and Michael Nix
7 pm Zoom: Q & A with Kate Spencer on the A.E. Smith Banjo Company
8 pm Video: Shingle the Roof, Old-time musicians Kate Spencer and Jerry Devokatis
9 pm Video: The Nix Classic Banjo Project with Michael Nix

Sunday, April 25, 2021

6 pm Film: Linefork, a film featuring Kentucky banjo legend Lee Sexton (Smithsonian Folkways)
7:30 pm Zoom: Q & A with film maker Vic Rawlings on Linefork
8 pm Video: Aaron Jonah Lewis, Classic Fingerstyle Banjo
9 pm Video: Ken Perlman, Melodic Clawhammer Banjo

The New American Banjo Festival will take place on-line, April 24 and 25, 2021 with streaming concerts and Zoom discussions each day. The New American Banjo Festival will explore interesting and unique performance styles old and new; have a history component, and a cultural component focusing on the banjo in New England and beyond. Admission is by donation.

Performers for the New American Banjo Festival are Aaron Jonah Lewis, a classic fingerstyle virtuoso; Ken Perlman, internationally known as a pioneer of a banjo style known as melodic clawhammer; Shingle the Roof, an Old-time string band; and Michael Nix performing music from his New Classic Banjo Project.

Kate Spencer will give a video presentation and Q&A Zoom session on the Arthur E. Smith Banjo Company, one of the first revival banjo manufacturing businesses, which was located in Franklin County, MA. Linefork, a film featuring Kentucky banjo legend Lee Sexton (Smithsonian Folkways) will be screened followed by live Zoom Q+A with Co-Director Vic Rawlings.

NixWorks and couchmusic.live will facilitate the streaming performances.

Sponsors for the festival are NixWorks, The Shea Theater, RiverCulture, CouchMusic.live, and Greenfield Cooperative Bank. This program is supported in part by a grant from the following local agencies, which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency: Buckland, Conway, Gill, Greenfield, Leyden, Montague, New Salem, Northfield, Shelburne, Shutesbury.

Special Thanks to Our Sponsors and Underwriters

Australis Aquaculture • Artisan Beverage Cooperative • Benjamin Company • Berkshire Brewing Company • Cohn and Company Real Estate Agency • Community Credit • Common Capital • Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts • Connecticut River Internists • Dean's Beans • Easthampton Savings Bank • FirstLight GDF Suezna • Gill Tavern • Goff Media • Great Falls Harvest • Green River Festival • Greenfield Community College • Greenfield Cooperative Bank • Greenfield Savings Bank • Loot • Massachusetts Cultural Council • Montague Bookmill Montague WebWorks • Northeast Solar • People's Pint • Rainmaker Consulting • The Rendezvous • Solar Store of Greenfield • Stobierski and Connor • Told Video • True North Transit • Turn It Up

Exciting News for A Happening IV: Leviathan

Cloudgaze and Eggtooth Productions are thrilled to announce that we have received a generous grant from the Markham-Nathan Fund for Social Justice to support our 2024 Immersive Arts Festival, “A Happening IV: Leviathan.”

This festival will transform the Shea Theater into an exploration of theme, hosting installations, music, theatrical performances, and movement pieces, featuring the collective contributions of over 30 local artists. Audiences will experience otherworldly environments and narratives inspired by folklore, fairy tales, horror motifs, American literature, and the mythos of the Old Testament, all of which delve into the central question guiding the festival: "What does it mean to encounter something greater than yourself and to be consumed by it?" Through this theme, we explore how a community reemerges and imagines itself after destruction and transformation.

With the support of the Markham-Nathan Fund, we are excited to create an event that complicates perspectives and fosters meaningful dialogue. We are grateful for this partnership and for the work of the Markham-Nathan Fund for Social Justice.

Thanks to the Mass Cultural Council for their vital support this year.We'd also like to thank the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts for their support in the form of a Flexible Funding grant. We couldn't do this work without you!