Banjovial Greetings, One And All! I’m getting jolly over here because it’s my favorite month of the year. It’s so beautiful here in Michigan, and we can safely say that summer is completely over. The ongoing pandemic that is coronavirus continues to rage, and the even more ongoing plague of capitalist white-supremacist patriarchy also continues. I already voted so I can ignore  the ubiquitous campaign ads, but I did sign up to work the polls on election day so we’ll see how that turns out. In this newsletter:  – Patreon Goals  – I Have A Gig! (Two, Actually)  – Spring Tour in UK and Ireland  – Grammys (Ha Ha)  – New Video (From Live Online Concert)  – I Read A Book Patreon Goals I have almost 2500 subscribers to this email list and I currently have 38 patrons on Patreon. My goal is to get that number up to 300 — Can you help me make it happen? For less than the price of a cup of coffee (once a month) you’ll get lots of exclusive content including music, stories,…

Last week I played from my friend’s front porch for a crowd of about seven people, in honor of his and his partner’s ten-year wedding anniversary. It felt SO GOOD to play in real life in front of real people, unmediated by webcams or microphones, and to experience that spontaneous interaction of brains and hearts through strings and hands and vibrating air. Please, I thought, please don’t ever let this go away… Still here? Still here! I haven’t taken such a long break from communications in a while, but it’s because ALL OF MY GIGS WERE CANCELLED (or postponed), so I didn’t have much to report. Now, however, I have a few gigs coming up to tell you about, and so much more. In this email: – Upcoming Shows – YouTube Videos (Please Subscribe) – Classical Flex – Bandcamp Day, Friday, September 4 (Please Download and Share) – Hire Me to Play for You – Patreon (Please Become a Patron) – Book Report   UPCOMING SHOWS I do have a couple shows coming up, including one real life in person…

As my friend AJ Srubas (of Steam Machine — check em out!) recently reminded me, silence is complicity — I need to speak out, so in addition to the usual charming updates about my life and work, I include in this newsletter some resources for being a better ally to oppressed people, especially here in the US. If you feel as disturbed and distraught as I do about the recent murders of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Ahmad Arbery in Atlanta you can scroll straight to the bottom of this message and find a few links to resources for taking action.   In this email I have for you: – Upcoming Shows? – Bandcamp Day Friday, June 5 – Non-Story About Bela Fleck – Why Patreon? – Book Report – Resources for Being an Ally   Upcoming Shows? I’m playing a short online set on June 5 from 3-3:30pm EDT as part of an online festival to support the Stag & Hounds, a well-loved music venue I’ve played many times in Bristol, UK. To see my set and more just…

A few weeks ago I participated in the world’s first-ever (as far as I know) virtual fiddle contest. Known as the Great Southern Old Time Fiddlers’ Convention it has been going on in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for many years. This was my first year competing and I won first place in the fiddle category. (I’m also proud to mention my sister, Hannah Lewis, won first place in the dance category and my friend Micah Spence, also in Detroit, won first place in the banjo category. Go Detroit!) This is a very strange time but I am heartened to see all the creative ways people are making the best of it.   In this email: – Upcoming Shows (Online)! – Join Me on Patreon – Pizza Recipe – Kenny Baker Challenge – Bandcamp Day Is May 1 – Book Report   Upcoming Shows First and foremost, I have a few online shows coming up. I will be playing some new material I’m very excited to share (original classic banjo arrangement of Russian Rag!!!!!) with special guest Grace van’t Hof. Here are the…

My Dear Friends and Musical Family, I’m glad I waited to send this: I was going to announce months packed with gigs — My busiest year of performing yet, including great gigs in the northeast US, the Netherlands and France with Lovestruck Balladeers, a solo tour in the UK and Germany, and a Corn Potato String Band tour in Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina — and then the unthinkable happened. (That reminds me of a joke: How do you think the unthinkable? Scroll to the end for the punchline…) First of all, I hope you are all staying safe and well during these strange times. I have my health and I have my house, but as you can imagine, my work is all gone. It will be hard for me to recoup the money I spent on plane tickets, not to mention the costs of making my new album, but I am doing the best I can with online lessons and personalized performances. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact me directly. If you’d like to order…

or America’s Got Talent, whatever. And I wasn’t actually on the show but I did audition. Scroll all the way to the bottom for that story. It’s 100 percent true.   Now, I’ve got quite a newsletter for you this time. Lots of fun links to look at, including audio, new videos, and news articles. Re-statement of tour dates. Book report. Update on the dental work… I’ll start with that, because I know you’re just dying to hear about it.   DENTAL WORK UPDATE I’m not really going to go into specifics on this but I got the rest of my dental work done a couple weeks ago and it’s left me with a lingering sensitivity in part of my mouth. Every time I feel that sensitivity I take it as a reminder to be kind to everyone you meet, since you never know what inner struggles other people are dealing with.   Saving the videos and other links for last, here are the   TOUR DATES   LOVESTRUCK BALLADEERS GIGS IN NY: 2/14 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Caffe Lena 2/15-16…

I got some surprise dental work done today. As I listened to the dentist’s drill whine and grind layers of molar away, smelling the dentist (he smelled good) and enjoying the simultaneous feelings of cradle-comfort in that chair and discomfort from keeping my mouth so open for so long, I had to suppress a giggle a few times. I giggled for the situation (Princess Bride on the TV — “My name is Inigo Montoya…”) and I giggled for my ability to handle it. I feel better equipped than ever for any challenge that comes my way, and I’m ready to have a good time, too.   Welcome to 2020 AJL World my friends. Things are not suddenly different, just gradually getting better all the time. This is the busiest January I’ve had in a long time and I’m going to tell you all about it. In this email you can read about   – Upcoming Gigs – Radio Appearances – New Videos – Mozart of the Banjo update   UPCOMING GIGS Yes, I’ve been rehearsing for not one but TWO…

I am giddy with excitement to share this news with you today — After nearly a year of preparation — researching, practicing, coordinating, rehearsing, recording, mixing, mastering, designing, and more (ENORMOUS thanks to everyone who helped me make this happen!) — My first solo album of classic fingerstyle banjo music is now available HERE!! This album consists exclusively of pieces by the great English banjo composer Joe Morley, an early 20th-century virtuoso and prolific composer whose works have appealed to me since I first encountered them. The CD also comes with extensive liner notes, including contributions from the Smithsonian’s Greg Adams, fellow musician Jerron Paxton, and the man who wrote THE book on Klezmer, Hank Sapoznik, all personal heroes of mine. Many of the pieces on this album have never before been recorded. It is a great honor for my album to be included in the catalog of Tiki Parlour Recordings, a label I’ve admired for many years. Every single record they’ve released is an absolute gem and an inspiration. They put together this beautiful trailer video for the album…

Yesterday was the day of global climate action. I participated in spirit from home but I am 100% with the strikers and protesters. If your house was on fire, you would show up and call for a solution, wouldn’t you? I’ve been calling for action, thinking about and changing my own behavior and talking with everyone around me for such a long time, and I’m hopeful that it’s not too late for positive action to keep our planet habitable.   My neighborhood, from where I write to you now, has some of the worst air quality in the country, and construction is about to begin on a new bridge to Canada, which will only increase traffic in the area. Nestle is pulling 400 gallons of water from Michigan aquifers PER MINUTE and paying next to nothing for the privilege (#boycottNestle, for so many reasons… That’s Ice Mountain in water bottle form. Actually, just boycott disposable water bottles altogether, please. You know they are not going to be recycled…) With all this in mind, we still have a lot to celebrate…

I’m writing to you from an AirBnB in Denver where 27 other people are staying. I’m in a room with six other people and it’s not a big room. Bunk beds, body odor, close quarters, and lots of rules, including no music playing, ever.   But! Earlier today I played on a big stage for thousands of people at Swallow Hill Brewgrass with Mark Lavengood Band and it was a blast! (Visit my Instagram page for a photo…) First ice cream of the season was pure delight… They really know how to do it around here. I hope to come back to Colorado again soon…   And now, instead of playing my banjo and practicing for my big solo show at the Ark next week I am writing to you, so it all works out all right.   I have just a few key points in this email for you:  – Saturday, June 15, Square Dance + Reggae Concert at Ant Hall in Hamtramck!  – Sunday, June 16, My Solo Debut at The Ark in Ann Arbor! Get tickets here!…