Bonjour! I’m back from my little visit in France and you may notice I’m using a new website to send out these newsletters — definitely an improvement. The trip to Paris was fantastic, full of music and meeting old and new friends. I will share some highlights in this newsletter, along with: Upcoming Gigs Ragtime Banjo Revival Update Highlights from Paris Trip New Video – Subscribe to my YouTube Channel! Book Reports Upcoming Gigs (More Details on Website) This Friday, Feb 10, I am returning to Integrity House at The Farm in Summertown, TN, for a solo concert with my friend Luke Richardson joining me. Saturday I’m playing with Ben Belcher of Corn Potato String Band at the 38th Annual Alabama Clay Conference in Auburn, AL. (I released a record called “LIVE, Mostly” with Ben some years ago to little or no real fanfare but I still love it and want to make sure you all know about it!) Sunday, Feb 12, House Concert in Birmingham, AL — Concert at 4:30pm, with jamming to follow. RSVP to Charlie at [email protected]…

Happy 2023 Everybody!   Big News The biggest news I have to share is that the long-awaited album by Lindsay McCaw and friends, which we recorded in my living room, produced, and played a lot of instruments on last winter, is now available for free streaming and downloads via bandcamp. It’s called No Spaghetti Arms and it’s truly delightful! Featuring the fiddling of Lindsay McCaw, with Yours Truly on second fiddle, banjos, guitar and mandolin, and the fantastic Joel Jackson on guitar as well. Have a listen and let me know what you think!   Upcoming Gigs I don’t have any gigs to announce yet except for these: – Wednesday, Jan 18 at Le 101, 101 Rue de Ménilmontant, Paris, France, with Thomas Bailey performing our extremely traditional old time duo music, aka Wild Hog – Friday, Feb 10 at The Integrity House in Summertown, TN – Gigs in New Orleans around Mardi Gras TBA — Yes, I will be there. Let me know if you will be, too! – I would really like to play more gigs, especially on…

Ahoy!   I’m back home in Detroit after a few months of tour and travel, and I’ll be here until January. I’m so grateful for the smooth successes of the Corn Potato String Band and  Lovestruck Balladeers tours, as well as the wonderful solo show at the GAR Hall with Alex Belhaj and Grace van’t Hof. In this newsletter we have:   – A Few Upcoming Gigs – I’m Available for Lessons – Report from the Banjo Gathering + Concert Video – Ragtime Banjo Revival Progress Report – Zombie Stringband – Book Report   A Few Upcoming Gigs – Saturday, Nov 12 – The Detroit Club w/Vlad Tovbin and Alex Belhaj – FREE – Fri/Sat, Nov 18-19 – Detroit Cantastoria Fest at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church – Saturday, Nov 26 – Detroit Shipping Company – solo show – FREE – Thursday, Dec 1 – Ann Arbor District Library – solo show – FREE – Thur-Sat, Dec 8-10 – Ebird & Friends Holiday Shows at The Ark – Friday, Dec 16 – Ferndale, MI – The Loving Touch – w/Alex Belhaj…

Greetings Friends and Neighbors,   I have a lot going on this coming month and I want to make sure you know all about it!   – Join My Patreon – Big Queer Square Dance + Potluck in Detroit tomorrow night! – Lovestruck Balladeers Updated Tour Dates – Solo Shows in Late Oct Just Added – Ragtime Banjo Revival Update – Book Report – New Songs I Recorded with Billy Clay   Join My Patreon In case you’re new here, I have a Patreon with exclusive content and fun ways to interact with me. For as little as $3/month you can join and help me keep doing what I’m doing — making music, sharing history and culture, and inspiring future generations! Join here   Big Queer Square Dance in Detroit In case you haven’t already heard, our local Detroit Square Dance Society (aka DSDS) is having our first big queer square dance and potluck in years, or really, ever! Peep the FB event, it’s tomorrow, Sunday, Oct 2, 6pm at Christ Church, 960 E. Jefferson and it’s going to be FABULOUS!…

Can you taste that hint of autumn in the air? Cooler weather and indoor concerts are coming to you soon… In this email: – Queer Square Dance in Detroit! – Corn Potato West Coast Tour Dates – Lovestruck Balladeers Midwest Tour Dates – Ragtime Banjo Revival Update – Become a Patron of AJL – Book Report Queer Square Dance in Detroit It’s been a long time but we have finally found a date and a venue for our next potluck and queer square dance — Oct 2 at Christ Church’s Ledyard Hall, downtown on Jefferson, more details coming soon. If you’d like to be on the DSDS (Detroit Square Dance Society) mailing list please respond and let me know, I will add you and you’ll be among the first to know all there is to know. I’m so excited that it’s happening again!   Corn Potato West Coast Tour Dates We were invited to play at this year’s Berkeley Old Time Music Convention and decided to take the opportunity to add some more dates to our time on the West…

Bonjour Mes Amis! (That’s French for “Hello My Friends!”)   I’ve been back in Detroit for a week or so now and the culture shock is real. I can’t pretend like the systems we take for granted aren’t failing us. I also can’t stop doing the cultural work I’m doing.   For a while my attitude was, There’s nothing else I can do so I’ll make beautiful music on the deck as the ship is going down. Now my attitude is, To the lifeboats! And as I sometimes say at the end of a show when I introduce Jordan Is a Hard Road to Travel, we have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but it doesn’t need to be done in misery and isolation. We can work together with optimism and joy.   In this issue of AJL’s Coolest Newsletter Ever: – A World Premier! – Support My Work — Patreon – Ragtime Banjo Revival Update – September West Coast Tour with Corn Potato String Band – October Midwest Tour + Brooklyn Folk Festival with Lovestruck Balladeers –…

Is winter coming to an end so soon? I’m sad to see it go, but with spring comes SPRING TOUR DATES! Let’s get vernal. This tour was originally planned for April 2020, as many of you may know, and for some reason it had to be postponed til now…   I’m not very creative so I crowdsourced the name of this tour and someone named cosmicmeatbagsystem came up with the winning entry: “Americana Come Over” 2022 UK Tour. In this newsletter: – US Tour Dates – UK Tour Dates – Ragtime Banjo Revival Progress Report – New Video – Interview/Concert “From the Kitchen Table” – Book Report – Bonus Fun Thing! US Tour Dates Some very exciting gigs coming up pretty soon on my way to Boston: 4/19 – Chagrin Falls, OH – Send me a message for details 4/20 – Pittsburgh, PA – TBC 4/22 – Sheffield, MA – Dewey Hall – Workshop + Concert 4/23 – Greenfield, MA – New American Banjo Festival 4/24 – Portsmouth, RI – TBC – Send message for details   UK Tour Dates…

Ahoy! It looks like I actually have some gigs to announce — fingers crossed — the Corn Potato String Band‘s “No Spaghetti Arms” Midwest Tour is starting in less than two weeks, and this will be our first time playing together as a trio in three years! 1/29 – Three Rivers, MI – Riviera Theatre 1/30 – Grand Rapids, MI – Tip Top Deluxe 2/3 – Remus, MI – House Concert – email [email protected] for info 2/4-5 – Big Rapids, MI – Big Rapids Festival of the Arts (concert 2/4, square dance 2/5) 2/6 – Midland, MI – Creative 360 (banjo workshop at 12, concert at 2:30) 2/8 – Grosse Pointe Park, MI – Old Time Jam at Cabbage Patch Saloon, 8pm 2/9 – Fort Wayne, IN – Hop River Brewing 2/10 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark 2/11 – Columbus, OH – Rambling House 2/12 – Peninsula, OH – GAR Hall We have received one request so far, which we plan to honor. If you’re planning to come to any of these shows feel free to respond to…

It’s been over a week since I got back from the Banjo Gathering and I am still buzzing with the energy of that experience. Part of the thrill of the Banjo Gathering is seeing friends and exploring this very specific field of study we find ourselves drawn into. Another important part for me is simply being part of a group of people who share understanding.   For me it’s the way we understand the importance of acknowledging the uncomfortable parts of our history in order to be able to move forward. In other words, we all know and can speak openly with each other about the slave trade origins of the banjo and the ways it was used as a prop in minstrel shows to perpetuate  demeaning stereotypes of  African Americans, for example.   This isn’t the only group I’ve found that gives me that special feeling, I am fortunate to have found a few. I hope you all know the feeling of being around people with whom you share very specific understanding.   Greetings and Welcome! In this email…

Did you know that getting a tetanus shot can result in side effects? I was helping out on a roofing job last week. I didn’t want to get up on the roof and I also didn’t want to demo the old lead paint-covered walls in the house (since my beard prevents a tight seal with a respirator) so I stayed outside to gather shingles and tarpaper and put them in the dumpster.   Within about ten minutes I had stepped on a rusty nail deep enough to draw blood. We got the wound cleaned up and bandaged, and I spent the rest of the day looking for a place to get a tetanus shot that would be covered by my insurance. Long story short, I got a tetanus shot at the local drug store for $60 (no insurance coverage) and I’m feeling fine. And I’ve experienced some unexpected side effects, i.e., a mild case of the runs. Funs!   The main thrust of this email is twofold, but I have some bonus book reports and other tidbits to share as…