DESCRIPTION:
"Conversations with North American Banjo Builders" is a four-volume, 12 DVD series that includes interviews with 38 banjo builders and scholars conducted by filmmaker Craig Evans. This excerpt from Volume 1 features Doug Unger, a traditional banjo builder based in Peninsula, Ohio who is always open to new kinds of ideas, expressions, and ornamentation.

Purchase the DVD on Smithsonian Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu/conversations-with-north-american-banjo-builders/smithsonian

The Smithsonian Folkways Banjo Builders Collection depicts the living history of one of the most iconic instruments in North American folk music. Each episode profiles a particular working builder and highlights the workshop, production techniques, and finished banjos. The four volumes are “Banjo Builders East of the Mississippi” (1), “Banjo Builders West of the Mississippi” (2), “Conversations with Historians” (3), and “Even More Builders” (4). The series presents luthiers from one of four banjo styles: gourd, minstrel, traditional, and modern.

Produced by Craig Evans and Frailinflix Productions, the series will now receive full distribution via Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and add to an already extensive focus on the banjo that includes 343 albums, 11 videos, 4 lesson plans for educators, and the film "Talking Feet" which documents different types of solo Southern dance. Learn more about the new release: http://s.si.edu/1MDY99o

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