Dear IBMA Foundation,
Thank you for supporting our efforts to present original programming spotlighting the musical legacies of Doc Watson and Earl Scruggs. During the 2024 season of the Savannah Music Festival, IBMA Foundation project grant funds helped to produce the following activities:
- Doc at 100 Virtual Discussion (pre-festival event on Facebook Live, February 26, 2024). View here.
- Doc at 100 (Encounters Artist Talks series event on April 5, 2024 at Savannah Cultural Arts Center) FREE, approximately 100 attendees
- Doc and Earl: Doc at 100 performance / Tony Trischka’s Earl Jam (ticketed festival performance on April 5, 2024) 285 attendees
- Tony Trischka, solo banjo, 112 attendees
Having multiple interactions with the Doc at 100 personnel—Ted Olson, Jack Hinshelwood, Wayne Henderson and Jack Lawrence—was an absolute pleasure. Their various viewpoints and experience and seemingly endless enthusiasm for sharing stories and insights about Doc Watson as a musician and human being were evident both on and off the stage.
The Facebook Live discussion, which can still be viewed, was mostly filled with stories about Doc, with a historical introduction by Ted Olson (who compiled and wrote the accompanying book for the Craft Records box set Life’s Work: A Retrospective). Renowned luthier, educator and festival producer Wayne Henderson, who was a close friend of Doc’s, spoke about various interactions with Doc. Producer and musician Jack Hinshelwood, who helped conceive of this project, added context to Henderson’s portrayal of Doc’s strong character. Longtime touring partner Jack Lawrence told road stories and played a favorite Doc Watson ballad, “Georgie.”
At the festival, the Encounters Artist Talks series event featuring Doc at 100 participants was attended by an all-ages audience of nearly 100 people. This event involved some solo performances by each of the musicians, complemented by stories, history and Q&A.
Later that night, SMF presented Doc and Earl, which was a two-part concert presentation. Nearly 300 attendees packed the Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden to hear a celebration of the lives and music of both Doc Watson and the late Earl Scruggs (whose 100th birthday anniversary was a few months before). The Doc at 100 players had an introduction from Ted Olson, and followed up with solo, duo, and trio performances of some of Doc Watson’s repertoire, including “Sittin’ on Top of the World,” “Steel Guitar Rag,” and many others.
After the break, banjo player Tony Trischka introduced his Earl Jam ensemble, consisting of himself on banjo, Casey Driessen on fiddle, Michael Daves on guitar and vocals, and Jared Engel on bass. The band’s program paying tribute to Earl Scruggs was spirited, authentic, and expertly played. The following day, April 6, Trischka played a solo banjo concert that covered his repertoire over the years, joined on the last two songs by Daves.
Photos were taken by Elizabeth Leitzell. Recordings of these performances will be shared with the artists, and will be used on the weekly Georgia Public Radio program Savannah Music Festival LIVE, broadcast statewide on Sunday nights at 8 pm and on Tuesdays at 9 pm in Athens, GA.
With gratitude,
Ryan McMaken, Artistic Director
Savannah Music Festival
RETURN to the June 2024 issue of The Cornerstone.
Photo above: Tony Trischka takes the stage at the Savannah Music Festival to lead “Earl Jam.”
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