Author: Tim Piazza

Orrin Star is a nationally recognized folk & bluegrass performer and teacher based in the Washington, DC area. Winner of the 1976 National Flatpicking Championship (the largest bluegrass guitar contest in the country), he plays guitar, banjo, mandolin, sings, and performs solo, duo and with his band Orrin Star & the Sultans of String.

His repertoire spans old-time, western swing, celtic and original songwriting in addition to more mainstream bluegrass and folk material. An accomplished storyteller and entertainer (he worked as a stand-up comic for five years in the Boston area) he has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion and has three  recordings on Flying Fish Records. He is the author of a popular guitar instruction book (“Hot Licks for Bluegrass Guitar”, Oak Publications) and a columnist for Flatpicking Guitar magazine.

We first ran into Paul at the National Folk Alliance conference two years ago, where he was performing to an enthralled audience in the elevator lobby. His highly percussive style is captivating, and his performance crosses the expanse from humorous to mesmerizing. Paul is a sort of American gypsy, taking to the road for long stretches, and packing in more performances than a presidential candidate during an election run. Last year, he demonstrated his skill in making music with almost anything, even a broken, out-of-tune banjo-mandolin that was hanging on the wall! This past year Paul has been touring and recording with the phenomenal harmonica player, Howard Levy.

We are absolutely thrilled the Greg is coming back! As one of the leading performers on the national folk circuit, Greg brings a level of polish to his performance that is rarely acheived. His songs are moving and thought-provoking, and many have shown their appreciation for Greg’s writing by performing their own versions of his work. It’s always a pleasure to be able to share Greg’s performance with my friends here in Evansville.

Ever since moving to Indiana, I’ve been hearing about this guy hamed Grey Larsen. Until recently, this is the extent of what I knew. He plays Irish flute, he lives in Bloomington, and he’s a really nice guy. Since then I’ve learned that Grey is considered one of the world’s leading masters of Irish flute, that he has recorded with world renouned musicians and plays a variety of styles and a number of instruments. He has more than a dozen recordings featuring his music, a couple of books on playing whistle, and he teaches music workshops across the country and across the ocean. Enough already, you’re coming, right?

Last summer I had a free day and pointed the pick-up toward Iroquois Park in Louisville for a day’s worth of mountain-biking and music at Kentucky Music Weekend. While waiting for Bill Staines and Jean Ritchie to take the stage, I sat back to enjoy a picnic basket of brie and cabernet while taking in the opening acts. That’s where I discovered Wild Carrot. Pamela Temple and Spencer Funk make up this duo from Cincinnati, and they’re both highly talented performers blending jazz vocals with superb fingerstyle guitar.

We really had a blast hosting Pamela and Spencer. I found out that I am not alone in my music instrument obsession, as it turns out Spencer is just as much under the spell of “musical instrument acquisition syndrome” as I am. Why do I keep meeting these people that I want to take guitar lessons from, and they live hours away?