+ Square Dances + Dos Senoritas + Lotus Wight + Corn Potato Tour and MORE Ahoy Pals! Last weekend I had the pleasure of playing whatever I felt like for five hours outdoors on a beautiful day at a historic Michigan farm and meeting some lovely people. The day before that I played a sweet little square dance with Detroit Square Dance Society (and I just posted some clips from that event to my Instagram and TikTok accounts), which reminds me to tell you about all the fabulous things I have coming up in the next couple of months — In this edition of Aaron Jonah Lewis Coolest Newsletter Ever: The TWO Biggest Concerts of My Life, Actually! Upcoming Detroit Square Dances Dos Señoritas Vinyl, CD and Download Pre-Orders Now Available Lotus Wight Folk Music Concert in Detroit Corn Potato String Band Tour – New Dates Added! Ragtime Banjo Revival Patreon NEW – Recipe Corner Book Report The Two Biggest Concerts of My Life – October 28 in Ada, OH, and Nov 12 at Detroit’s Masonic Temple This is not…

The working name for the upcoming tour is “I AM THOR” — I am open to other suggestions! ¡Hola! I got back to Detroit a few days ago from the Silk Road Global Musician Workshop, held at the New England Conservatory in Boston, which was a blast and a half. I met so many wonderful humans who also happen to be incredible musicians. I played banjo in a band with trumpet, sax, drums, nyckelharpa, led by Balla Kouyate, a Mandé balafon player. I played banjo and fiddle in a klezmer band led by Hankus Netsky with accordion, piano, kamanche (Persian fiddle), pipa, and guitar. I played fiddle in a band led by Indian violinist Kala Ramnath with accordion, piano, guitar, bandura, erhu, and percussion. Each band had three rehearsals before performing in front of a paying audience, so it was quite the thrill to get this totally new and challenging material ready. It was a real feast at the five-star buffet of musical delights! I came away from it reflecting on the purpose of music — I could easily devote…

Don’t Get Weary, my traveling companions! I arrived home in Detroit after nearly 7 weeks on the road and although Jordan Is a Hard Road to Travel indeed I am so glad to have done it. See below for highlights from the tour and more, but first, the biggest news: Dos Señoritas: Classic Banjo Duets is now available for digital, CD and vinyl pre-order. When you pre-order the album you get two tracks right away. The vinyl is a Limited Edition of 100 10-inch records and will ship in October — check it out here Big News I’ve been accepted to the Silk Road Global Musician Workshop and I am heading there (New England Conservatory in Boston) in just a few weeks. Silk Road GMW is a musician training program modeled after the genesis of the Silkroad Ensemble. This experience is led by a group of all-star faculty artists, including musicians from the Silkroad Ensemble and their colleagues, teaching styles of music that represent a wide range of backgrounds and traditions. I’ll play in bands led by master musicians from…

Additional UK/EU/West Coast Tour Dates Announced, New Videos, Book Reports, and more Last night we had a little bon voyage party for me and I got to see a lot of my local friends, plus I got to see a performance by my old band, Roochie Toochie & the Ragtime Shepherd Kings, which was amazing as always. Now I have just about a week to make sure I’m ready for this big adventure. Wish me luck, and come out and see me if you can. And if you can’t make sure to send three people in your place! In this newsletter: Tour Dates (Including Recently Announced and TBC) New Videos Book Report Tour Dates June 4 – Dundalk, Ireland – The Spirit Store June 6 – Belfast, N. Ireland – The American Bar June 9 – Peebles, Scotland – Eastgate Theatre and Arts Centre June 11 – Edinburgh, Scotland – House Concert – Message [email protected] for reservations and more info June 12 – Edinburgh, Scotland – City of Edinburgh Music School June 13 – Barnoldswick, England – Barnoldswick Music &…

Announcing EU/UK and West Coast Tour Dates + New Videos + More Buenos tardes, amigos! I am so pleased to share the unofficial prerelease availability of physical CD copies of Dos Señoritas: Classic Banjo Duets, by myself and Ben Belcher! This album will not be officially released until October so for now the only way you can get one is to either come to a concert (see below or website calendar for upcoming tour dates) or send me a message requesting one or more copies, and in a few months I’ll be able to make digital pre-ordering available via bandcamp. I’m very happy with how they turned out, featuring beautiful artwork by Grace van’t Hof. In this newsletter: Update re: Emmett’s Bike Detroit, EU/UK and US West Coast Tour Dates (More TBA) New Ragtime Banjo Revival Website New Videos (A Lot of them) Banjoland, Here I Come (American Banjo Fraternity Spring Rally) Abolitionist Inside/Outside Reading Group Fundraiser Update re: Emmett’s Bike Thanks in part to your generous contributions Emmett will get his bike in a couple months, AND enough funds…

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…