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Events
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The
lineup for the 17th annual MerleFest (www.merlefest.org),
hosted by Doc and Richard Watson, April 29—May 2 in Wilkesboro,
North Carolina, will include Rosanne Cash, Vince Gill, Patty Loveless,
Béla Fleck and Edgar Meyer, Nickel Creek, the Tony Rice Unit,
Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, Hot Tuna, the David Grisman Quintet,
Donna the Buffalo, the Sam Bush Band, and many more.
Old-time, bluegrass,
and string band music will echo through the Santa Monica mountains
at the Topanga Banjo-Fiddle Contest and Folk Festival,
May 16 at the Paramount Ranch near Agoura, California, as instrumentalists,
singers, and bands compete in more than 100 contests. Performers
include Kelly McCune and Border Radio, Desert Sage, and Heart of
Grass. Find out more at www.topangabanjofiddle.org.
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New
Releases
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Version
3.0 of the popular eMedia Guitar Method, Vol. 1
CD-ROM (www.emediamusic.com)
has been updated with 20 new demonstration videos, a new modern
rock guitar chapter, and native OS X compatibility.
The limited-edition
DVD Julian Bream: My Life in Music (www.musiconearth.co.uk)
offers an in-depth profile of the great classical guitar and lute
virtuoso and a full hour of performance footage, including Benjamin
Britten's Nocturnal, Op. 70 and Richard Rodney Bennett's Sonata
for Solo Guitar. Bonus features include archival music clips, additional
camera angles for two performances that reveal the intricacies of
Bream's technique, and additional interviews with the guitarist.
Entries for the 2004
USA Songwriting Competition—in 15 categories from
pop, rock, and country to dance/electronica and novelty—are
being accepted through May 28. The grand prize winner, selected
by industry pros, will receive a lavish package of cash, merchandise,
and exposure, valued at more than $50,000. Go to www.songwriting.net
for details.
Everyone's a winner
in the Song of the Year Contest: every entrant
receives a free one-month subscription to Online Gigs (www.onlinegigs.com).
Monthly winners and finalists in ten categories will have their
songs sent to record labels and music publishers, and at year's
end, ten songs will be considered for a BMG publishing contract.
Partial proceeds support VH1's Save the Music Foundation. Enter
at www.songoftheyear.com.
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In
Memory
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Best
known for his 1950s "flamin' guitars" duets with Jimmy
Bryant, steel guitar wizard Wesley W. "Speedy"
West died November 15 at age 79 in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
Such tracks as "Stratosphere Boogie" and "Space Man
in Orbit" earned the Missouri native the reputation as a founding
father of space age music, while his incendiary picking was heard
on country and pop recordings by Tennessee Ernie Ford, Loretta Lynn,
Ernest Tubb, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and others.
Hardcore honky-tonk
country star Gary Stewart apparently took his own
life on December 16. The 58-year-old Kentucky-born singer-songwriter
was found dead of a gunshot wound at home in Ft. Pierce, Florida.
Peaking in popularity in the mid-1970s when his song "She's
Actin' Single (I'm Drinking Doubles)" topped the country charts,
Stewart experienced a minor comeback in the late '80s and early
'90s with rootsy albums for the indie HighTone label.
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Contests
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The
Third Annual University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost
College Guitar Ensemble Festival (March 25—27, Brownsville,
Texas) is holding an ensemble competition for students
of all levels, as well as professionals, in duo, trio, quartet,
and large ensemble categories. For registration information contact
Dr. Michael Quantz at (956) 983-7527 or mquantz@utb.edu.
The first prize package in the JoAnn Falletta International
Guitar Concerto Competition includes $5,000, a performance
with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and a possible record deal
with Fleur de Son Classics. The deadline for CD submissions is March
15. Call (716) 706-0242 or visit www.guitarfestival.org
for details.
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Cyber
Notes
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The
One World Beat Global Music Festival (www.oneworldbeat.org)
will bring together musicians from more than 20 countries in live
webcast concerts, March 19—21. Supported by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and
other organizations, the festival benefits Keep a Child Alive, which
provides medical assistance to children living with HIV/AIDS in
the developing world.
Kent State University's
radio station, WKSU, has launched Folk Alley (www.folkalley.com),
streaming traditional and contemporary folk music
24 hours a day. The site also includes host/station announcer Jim
Blum's weblog, music news updates, reviews, and a listener feedback
forum.
An Internet connection
and a Quicktime player are all you need to catch up on the latest
videos of northern European folk music—333
and growing, including groups like Väsen and Värttinä—at
TVFolk.net (www.tvfolk.net).
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| Meet
A.G.
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Click
here to meet the Acoustic Guitar team at a wide variety upcoming
music events and trade shows. Listed below are some things happening
in the next few weeks.
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Excerpted from Acoustic
Guitar magazine, March
2004, No. 136.
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Got some news? Send it to Happenings, Acoustic
Guitar, PO Box 767, San Anselmo, CA 94979-0767; email happenings.ag@stringletter.com;
or fax (415) 485-0831.
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