Original Notes from Banjourneys 

Notes From Banjourneys The banjo had been calling to me long before I turned to pick it up and sound it a little over 30 years ago.  I have been grappling with it ever since, first in Ohio and West Virginia, and later in Virginia, North Carolina, Illinois, all before I took up residence in Florida a decade ago. The banjo has gleefully lead me from the beaten path, into festival fields up until dawn, across rutted roads and streams into rural homes to meet elders eager to share, and into communities of…

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My Akonting Story 

How I Got Involved with the Akonting (ekonting).

I started playing banjo at age 23, and fiddle a year or two later. When I was 30, I went to medical school, in part because I wanted to learn a trade that would serve people, and allow me some autonomy. While music and medicine compete for time in my life, they also inform one another. As part of my practice, I participate in an arts-in-medicine program. Specifically, this means that once a month, I spend time playing music for patients and staff at…

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