THE BANJO GATHERING
1998-2018

The 20th Anniversary Banjo Gathering
Birthplace of Country Music Museum, Bristol, Virginia
Thursday, November 1 – Sunday, November 4, 2018

We are delighted to announce that the 20th Anniversary Banjo Gathering will take place at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, Virginia, on November 1 to 4, 2018. Since 1998, the Banjo Gathering has been the platform for banjo collectors, researchers, instrument builders, and musicians to share new scholarship and findings about the banjo as a historical, cultural, and built object.

This year we will celebrate with an anniversary concert, broadcasts on Radio Bristol, and our traditional community gathering with three days of presentations, exhibitions, and a banjo marketplace for studying, buying, selling, and trading historical and vintage banjos, parts, and related items, as well as banjos from some of today’s finest instrument makers.

This year, we welcome presentation proposals (submit yours here) that explore:

• The art and craft of banjo making from early gourd instruments to contemporary banjos

• The banjo’s role in the birth of Country music, early recordings, and music and dance in genres such as Minstrelsy, Jazz, Old-time, Bluegrass, and beyond

• The American experience through banjo history, including the African Diaspora; America’s history of slavery, racism, and resistance; and social class and cultural stereotypes

We will reserve a block of rooms in the newly restored Bristol Hotel, next door to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum.

Details about registration for the Gathering and reserving hotel rooms will follow shortly. Meanwhile make sure that you set aside November 1 – 4 in your calendars.

For more information, visit our website banjogathering.com.