For enthusiasts of early banjo

Antietam Early Banjo Gathering-VI (June 21-23, 2013)

Event Details

Time: June 21, 2013 to June 23, 2013
Location: Keedysville, MD
Street: 18906 Shepherdstown Pike (MD Rt 34)
City/Town: Keedysville, MD
Phone: 301-695-1864 (ext 823)
Event Type: conference/gathering
Organized By: George Wunderlich, Kyle Wichtendahl, Tom Frezza, Greg Adams
Latest Activity: May 14, 2016

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Event Description

The Sixth Annual Antietam Early Banjo Gathering

The Antietam Early Banjo Gathering (also known as the Early American Banjo Conference) is the premier event for enthusiasts and scholars of the 19th century banjo music and culture. The conference, held at the Pry House Field Hospital Museum on the Antietam National Battlefield, raises awareness of the early banjo’s significance in the development of American popular music. It also underscores music’s importance in the lives of Civil War soldiers.

We are excited to announce the schedule for the Antietam Early Banjo Gathering-VI to be held on June 21-23, 2013. The event will take place at the Pry House Field Hospital Museum, Antietam National Battlefield, 18906 Shepherdstown Pike, Keedysville, Maryland.

The Antietam Early Banjo Gathering is focused on three main activities: formal presentations (screenings, lectures, and workshops); one-on-one mentoring sessions about playing techniques; and two public concerts (for additional information about the schedule, please see this forum post).

Registration for the event is $60 per person and includes morning breakfasts (Saturday and Sunday), Saturday lunch, and daily snacks. For more information or to register online, visit www.civilwarmed.org/calendar and click on the Antietam Early Banjo Gathering. For questions, please contact Kyle Wichtendahl at 301-695-1864 ext. *823 orpryprograms@civilwarmed.org. To register for the conference by phone, please call 301-695-1864 ext. *811.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

FRIDAY, June 21

• Noon: Registration opens

• 1:00-5:00 p.m.: “Early Bird" Mentoring Sessions (first come, first serve)

• 5:00-7:00 p.m.: Dinner on your own

• 7:00-8:00 p.m.: Greetings and Show & Tell

• 8:00-9:00 p.m.: Presentation 1: Documentary screening: Jim Carrier’s The Librarian and the Banjo (the story of music librarian Dena Epstein and her research into early banjo history)

• 9:00-?: Jam sessions, social time

SATURDAY, June 22

• 8:30 a.m.: Check-in, coffee, and pastries

• 9:00-9:45 a.m.: Presentation 2: Dorothea Nelson, “Military Amateur Minstrel Groups in the Mexican War and Civil War”

• 10:30-11:15 a.m.: Presentation 3: Panel Discussion, “Interest in the Early Banjo: Why We Do What We Do” with Bob Winans, Cheick Hamala Diabate, Clarke Buehling, George Wunderlich, and Pete Ross (moderated by Greg Adams)

• 12:00-1:00 p.m.: Lunch (provided for registered participants)

• 1:30-2:15 p.m.: Presentation 4: Renee Lapp Norris, “Operatic Parodies in the Minstrel Shows”

• 3:00-3:45 p.m.: Presentation 5: Emily Oleson and Matthew Olwell, “A Presentation and Tutorial on Vernacular Dance and Movement as Applied to the 19th-Century Banjo”

• 5:15 p.m.: PUBLIC CONCERT at Pry House Field Hospital and Museum

• 6:30 p.m.: Dinner on your own

• 6:30 p.m.-?: Jam sessions, social time

SUNDAY, June 23

• 8:30 a.m.: Check-in, coffee, and pastries

• 9:00-9:30 a.m.: Large group meeting about AEBG 2014, logistics for Sunday afternoon concert

• 9:30-10:15 a.m.: Presentation 6: Joel Hooks, “Discovering Horace Weston (1825-1890)”

• 10:30-11:15 a.m.: Presentation 7: Clarke Buehling, “A Presentation on Playing Technique”

• 11:30-12:30 p.m.: Lunch on your own

• 12:30-2:00 p.m.: Concert preparation

• 2:00 p.m.: PUBLIC CONCERT in Dunker Church

• 3:00 p.m.: good-byes

Comment Wall

Comment by Jonathan Weaver on March 28, 2013 at 4:30pm: I plan on having period attire on for this. At least for one day.

Comment by Connie Vinci on March 28, 2013 at 4:37pm: Dave is crafting some period clothes to wear. I am not; I will be in my everyday attire.

Comment by Rob Morrison on March 28, 2013 at 7:06pm: To Scott Danneker -- I stay at the Clarion Hotel In Shepherdstown, WV. It's a staight shot about 10 minutes away. I usually just wear period costume on Saturday when we play for the public.--Rob

Comment by David MacLean on April 23, 2013 at 9:49am: I will be coming for the first time and am a beginer. I'm a Civil War civilian a few times a year and have been working the banjo into my impression. Was thinking of going the motel route but since the truck will be loaded for Gettysburg I could set up a period camp. will anyone else be doing that??

Comment by Kevin Gooding on June 10, 2013 at 6:48am: Gonna have to miss it this year! :-(

Got a wedding that weekend and getting ready to move! I'll miss you all and will plan to be back for 2014!

Comment by Andy Chase on June 10, 2013 at 8:32am: I am starting to get excited right about now! It will be good to see most of the usual gang (Kevin & Carl will be missed!) and meet new folks - it's about as nice a bunch of people as you could hope to meet anywhere. Scott: I'd say the period clothing/everyday clothing ratio is about 50/50. David: You should contact Kyle at the Pry House for particulars about camping, but I think there's usually at least one period tent at the top of the hill!

Comment by Strumelia on June 10, 2013 at 1:32pm: I'm just sorta scratchin' my head, thinking of various possibilities....

Questions that come to my mind:

Is anyone else besides Rob staying at the Clarion Hotel in Shepardstown WV?

Any women interested in sharing a two-bed room there at the Clarion or anywhere near the event?

Is anyone coming Thursday late afternoon-evening, to avoid a long early morning drive on friday morning? (it's a 6 hour drive for me)

Is anyone coming from along a route that would be starting from Albany NY, perchance? Possible ride sharing?

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions!

Comment by Wes Merchant on June 10, 2013 at 3:21pm: Regretably I'm otherwise musically engaged that weekend on the other side of South Mountain, but if you find yourself in Sheperdstown on a Thursday there is Music at O'Hurley's General Store: http://www.ohurley.com/ There is a Hostle south of Shapsburg if you're looking for inexpensive bare bones, rustic housing http://www.hiusa.org/harpersferry If you take the back roads from there to Sharpsburg you come in by (used to be over) Burnsides Bridge.

Comment by Tim Twiss on June 10, 2013 at 4:55pm: I'm driving straight through on Thursday. I usually like to stay in a motel that night and hop over to the gathering fresh, and then camp the next 2 nights. Not sure where to go...every review of motels are terrible. Just need to not look at those...and book it.

Comment by Andy Chase on June 11, 2013 at 8:08am: I did the Priceline "name your own price" thing 2 years ago; you give them a price per night and the general area you want to stay, and they find you a hotel. It's a bit of a gamble, but I've always had good results; you can specify the minimum number of stars so you don't wind up in a fleabag.

We wound up at the Holiday Inn in Martinsburg WV (about 20-25 minutes away from Pry House if I recall correctly.). It was a nice place; clean, quiet room, in-house restaurant.

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