Wood is an incredible substance. And I’ve seen some truly incredible wood in the past weeks: thirty kilometres of charred aspen and black spruce up along the Yukon River, a seven hundred year old cedar just down the road from my house in British Columbia, and a hunk of walnut shaped into a banjo that arrived in my mailbox.

This fretless banjo was hand crafted in Watauga County, North Carolina by John Peterson, and it feels like a great privilege to make it sound. When I initially picked it up and tuned the strings, the very first tune that I plucked out was “I Truly Understand.” Now, I haven’t heard that song in years, let alone played it, so the magic of the moment seemed to be predicting a pretty good future for me and this banjo. My practice regimen is just beginning, so don’t expect to see this beauty out on the stage until next year, at best. 

You will, however, see me out on the stage this fall over on Vancouver Island and in the lower Mainland – check out the Events page for all the details.

And I’ve been working on a new album this summer, so expect to hear some new tunes out there and prepare yourself to put those new tunes into your hi-fi system in the near future. Until then, I’ll be shedding my banjo licks…