We’re drawing the winner of the Blues Cruise on January 15th, 2014 in Music Maker’s Hillsborough office! There’s still time to enter to win, and all purchases go to support [...]
You may remember it as an iconic Christmas album, but Tim remembers it as a great meeting of musicians one Holiday season that led to a classic recording – one of Music Maker’s [...]
Cootie Stark was an incredible Piedmont blues singer and guitarist whose repertoire harkened back to his youth, when he learned his music from the legendary Baby Tate. Cootie was the only fellow [...]
Is everyone on your list taken care of? It’s time to take care of YOU! We’ve got the albums you’ll love, plus things like the Blues Cruise Raffle and Ironing Board Sam’s [...]
One thing that you can definitely say about Ironing Board Sam – he loves Christmas music, because he loves seeing people smile. The other night, while Aaron and Tim were busy with a tintype [...]
From 1991-94, Guitar Gabriel, Captain Luke, Macavine Hayes and I would spends days, upon weeks, upon months and years when we were not doing a show, going from drink house to drink house. [...]
Listen: “Big Stuff” I recall walking into the Music Maker offices in the Spring of 2010, sitting down at my desk and hearing loosely arranged acoustic guitar playing on the computer [...]
Last night was a very special and exciting moment here in our Music Maker Grotto. Earlier in the afternoon our partner Tom Ciaburri stopped by the office. He had just come back from two weeks in [...]
Listen: Christmas Medley As a Jewish boy, Christmas music always seemed to wag a finger at me. I hated the Santa Claus conspiracy and pitied my cousins for believing in such a fallacy. I still [...]
We’re excited to announce the debut album from Lakota John & Kin! Although Lakota John released a solo album two years ago, this is the family’s first as a group. Mama Tonya, Papa [...]
We know this is the biggest travel season of the year – and so, in the spirit of the season we continue with our series of posts reminiscing about our 20 year history of traveling to gigs [...]
Stumped about what to get your loved ones? New to Music Maker’s immense CD collection? The Gift Guide can help! We’ve chosen Music Maker favorites in a variety of categories, and [...]
We’re all set to be your Santa’s helpers – but in order to ensure your orders get to you in time for Christmas, please place your order no later than 5pm on December [...]
Music Maker has a special addition to our store this Holiday season – a silver pendant designed by Ironing Board Sam. Aaron wrote about how Sam designed the pendant, and why, as a lot of [...]
Thank you so much to everyone who has made an Annual Fund, purchased something in our store, or has just wished us well – the response to our Black Friday sale and #GivingTuesday was [...]
I came in the office one morning to find a very interesting drawing on my desk; it was scrawled on a piece of legal lined paper. An isosceles triangle encased in an egg-shaped oval; atop [...]
It’s the holidays, and we know that will mean a lot of traveling for many of our supporters. We’d love to revisit some of our favorite stories of traveling with artists in the spirit [...]
Check out our Black Friday Deals! You can do all your shopping with us this year! Music Maker Staff Favorites on sale – half off our staff’s top ten! Free shipping on the Ironing [...]
We wanted to make sure you know how much we value you, our supporters. Every one of us, from staff to board members to artists, will be thanking you at our tables this year. Your support means [...]
In 1991, Guitar Gabriel and I were playing at a public radio station where we performed in front of a live audience. After the show, an old black man dressed completely in dot-painted clothing [...]
In 1991, I was down in Mississippi visiting my friend David Nelson, who was at the time the editor of Living Blues Magazine. He introduced me to a German postal worker named Axel Küstner. Axel [...]
Listen: Listen Mr DJ John Lee Zeigler, from Kathleen, GA played guitar upside-down and backwards in a style that directly reflects African griot traditions. In the late 1960s George Mitchell [...]
Captain Luke’s birthday is coming up, and while we prepare to throw a little soiree for him here at the office, Aaron remembers the first time he met Captain Luke. It was the first time [...]
Have you met Ejo, our office mascot and “task master?” Some days, Ejo just has the blues. Particularly Mondays. Check out this video our intern Swathi made characterizing Ejo’s [...]
As we approach Captain Luke’s 86th birthday, I was thinking about the first time I ever encountered him, or Music Maker. I used to work at a music store in Durham, NC. The store was flanked [...]
Denise has catered parties large and small (and huge) throughout Music Maker’s history. Feeding musicians has been a large part of recording sessions, gigs, and gatherings for the past 20 [...]
This past week Aaron and I went to speak to the Raleigh Charter High School’s SOOTS (Sustaining Roots Music Community Project) program. The group was founded by teacher Charles Montague in 2006 [...]
Listen: Dr. Dixon and Harvey Dalton Arnold’s “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” The past few days we’ve been welcoming Dr. Dixon, Bh.D, into the Music Maker family, and what better way to kick off our new [...]
Dr. Burt passed away last week after a battle with cancer. We were all saddened to hear this, and Tim wrote the following to commemorate him: Dr. Burt was a dear friend to everyone that he met. [...]
Did you miss part one of our Celebrate with the Blues series? Check it out here! Menu Notes For menu items I am not providing recipes for, but you want to prepare and not purchase, I recommend [...]
Nobody loved a holiday more than Guitar Gabriel. He loved to put on his suit and go out on the town or party hopping for 4th of July, Memorial Day, or MLK Day. Gabe thought that even minor [...]
Want the Music Maker Party Pack? You get it free if you let us know you’ll be raising funds for Music Maker at your party! Email Corinne@musicmaker.org and tell us how many people [...]
Listen: Can’t Stand To Let You Go Many times I let my co-workers choose the music we listen to in the office since, before working for Music Maker, I had very little working knowledge of Roots [...]
Many times when an artist passes away, Tim is asked “is that it? Is this the end of the music?” Tim addresses that concern and the answer is no – we have much more work to do [...]
When a Music Maker Partner artist passes away, folks always ask me, how many artists do we still have with us and is this the end of Music Maker? This is exactly why I started the Music Maker [...]
Listen: Summertime There is something spooky about Guitar Gabriel’s “Summertime”. “Summertime” is a George and Ira Gershwin song from the musical Porgy and Bess. It is one of the most recorded [...]
We heard, sadly, that Adolphus Bell passed away this morning. Last week Aaron, Ardie Dean and I all met up in Birmingham to see our old friend. His four-year fight with lung cancer had taken a [...]
We here at Music Maker are very sorry to hear of the passing of Lou Reed. Back at the beginning of Music Maker, Mark Levinson invited Lou and Laurie Anderson to Cello Studios in NYC to listen to [...]
Last January Ironing Board Sam appeared on The State of Things with Frank Stasio – they aired the segment again today, right before TENTH debuts in its first screening in Durham NC! [...]
We have all been loving Ironing Board Sam’s recently released album Double Bang! It is a truly amazing blend of Sam’s first CD on the MMRF lable, Going Up!, new album Big Bang!, and [...]
Two weeks ago, Captain Luke came down to Music Maker with his daughter Theresa for a tintype photo shoot. It was a chilly rainy day, so we set up the shoot inside the studio. As head chemist, [...]
Rhiannon Giddens and Leyla McCalla are teaming up for a few more dates in France coming off a great European tour this fall. The Art of Jazz Blog called their performance “a whirl of [...]
Listen: I’m Gone But I Don’t Know Where I’m Going “I’m Gone But I Don’t Know Where I’m Going,” by George Conner, is a great tune for so many occasions. I tend to listen to it when I’m [...]
It’s hard to believe we’re heading into the Holiday season (wasn’t it just summer?) This is the time of year when I’m able to slow down a little and reflect on what Music Maker does for our [...]
The first screening of Tom Ciaburri’s documentary of Ironing Board Sam is happening this week in Durham! The event will feature the film as well as a discussion with Tom. Come out and watch [...]
Dr. Burt is facing some major health concerns, and we are all thinking about him and praying for him and his family this week. In honor of Dr Burt, Tim wrote a wonderful blog post detailing his [...]
Years ago, Adolphus Bell, the Worlds Greatest One Man Band, drove up from Birmingham, Alabama to do a recording session with us. While here he delivered a cassette and promo photo of Dr. GB Burt, [...]
We’re about to ship out Listener’s Circle Volume 3 – and it’s pretty awesome. Featuring tracks from artists like Harvey Arnold, Essie Mae Brooks, Guitar Gabriel, and more [...]
Link: Big Belly Momma There is a bar on Broad Street in Richmond, VA called Triple. It sits on a mostly abandoned block along one of the city’s grandest thoroughfares. On either side of it are [...]
Over the weekend, Music Maker artist Cary Morin visited us at the Music Maker Grotto to have Aaron and I do a Tin Type session with him. We were fortunate to have interns Swathi and Thomas on [...]
Listen: The Winding Stream “Oh, give to me a winding stream, it must not be too wide, where waving leaves from Maple trees do meet from either side, the water must be deep enough to float a small [...]
Listen: Back in Business Grandma’s got groove, and she ain’t about to try and hide it. Ever since I started at Music Maker a year ago, images of Beverly “Guitar” Watkins [...]
Last month T-Bone Burnett called up Rhiannon Giddens and asked her to be part of a special concert at The Town Hall in NYC to be filmed by Joel and Ethan Coen that will be aired on Showtime in [...]
Rhiannon Giddens, an MMRF Next Generation Artist, performed Sunday night at the “Another Day, Another Time” concert at Town Hall in NYC, among other artists such as Joan Baez, Mumford [...]
While in the grocery store the other day, my husband and I had an encounter that wasn’t extraordinary, but to me further solidified the impact Music Maker has on our artists and on the outside [...]
Listen: Crooked World Blues Lakota John and Kin (that’s Momma Tonya, Papa John and Sister Layla) live in Pembroke, NC. They are members of the Lumbee Indian tribe, the largest tribe East of the [...]
It’s been a busy month for us here at Music Maker – then again, any given month is a busy month. A couple of weeks ago, we were pleased to hold an extremely successful benefit show at The [...]
Listen: Late in the Evening Pernell King and Guitar Gabriel’s “Late in the Evening” is on my playlist this week. Pernell was Guitar Gabriel’s half-brother, who spent 27 years in prison. Guitar [...]
Listen: Slavery Time Blues I have been thinking a lot about slavery as of late. Growing up in Connecticut we learned about it, but it was very abstract to my experience. Many of our artists that [...]
We just want to say thank you to everyone who came out to the Music Maker Benefit, featuring the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Ironing Board Sam, on September 3rd. The sold-out evening was a huge [...]
Listen: Will the Circle Be Unbroken I love the Henderson Brothers’ album, Rugby, VA. Wayne and Max Henderson’s only recording together, it includes classic bluegrass, and as Tim puts it “is just [...]
Are you coming to the Music Maker Benefit on 9/3 featuring the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Ironing Board Sam? If so, browse the online catalog for the silent auction, and you can see/bid on the [...]
Listen: We Three Lately, Mr Q is all I listen to on my car rides between work and home and anyone who may speak to me on the phone during these rides will have to suffer a few phrases belted out [...]
I was driving home from work the other day and was feeling a bit worn out by the CD that’s been sitting in my car’s CD player for the last two months, so I did the unthinkable: I [...]
Listen: The Girl I Left Behind Me As I made my first visit to Asheville, North Carolina, last week I couldn’t help but think about the musical traditions rooted in the mountains I headed towards. [...]
This past June Music Maker debuted a new project – our Music Maker Listener’s Circle. The idea behind the Listener’s Circle came from our French interns, Raphaël and Simon, who [...]
I was just having a conversation with our intern, Margot, about our weekly Diggin’. (Margot, it should be said, is so devoted to MMRF that despite having ended her internship in June, she still [...]
Listen: Cool and Rainy Day I love this tune by Cora Mae – it’s laid back, calm and very “you’ll be back.” Full disclosure – I chose this song because I’m feeling somewhat grateful for the [...]
We are so excited to see that Ironing Board Sam, Dom Flemons, and the Carolina Chocolate Drops have been honor by Living Blues for 2013! Ironing Board Sam was named “Most Outstanding [...]
The last piece from our collaboration with the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University is an audio snippet captured by the students who worked with Mississippi blues man Ben Payton, who [...]
Listen: Let’s Make Love On “Let’s Make Love” Larry Shores’ voice exemplifies a cowboy tenderness in all its mythic glory. It also tells a story that I believe every person listening can [...]
Most of the material that came out of the class with the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University was video, true, but we also got some insightful photos, snippets of audio and art [...]
Listen: Sweet Home New Orleans I’ve never been to New Orleans. The closest I ever got was Shreveport, LA – but that was back when my concept of culture was limited to the Cartoon Network. I [...]
Junior Ray “Pete” Whitcher of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, passed away on July 15th, we were saddened to hear. Pete was a Music Maker artist for close to twelve years, a talented [...]
We’ve got another one of the side-project pieces from the class at the Center for Documentary Studies. This one is a snapshot of Ironing Board Sam during his interview; Ironing Board Sam [...]
Musicians need instruments. Without them, they cannot fully realize their potential. It’s pretty straightforward. Sadly, the poverty that many Music Maker artists live in, does not afford them [...]
Listen: Nothin’ But Your Butt Ironing Board Sam’s first single off his new album is Nothin’ But Your Butt. Understandably, everyone wanted to write a Diggin’ on this one. [...]
Celebrate with us at Ironing Board Sam’s CD Release Party! Papa Mojo’s Roadhouse, Saturday, July 20th, 9:30pm 5410 HWY 55 – Durham $8 Cover Ironing Board Sam is so thrilled [...]
A part of the learning process when picking up a camera is when you get surprisingly beautiful, unexpected shots. It seemed like a consensus among the other CDS students and MMRF staff when we [...]
One thing that I can say I did not learn until I came to Music Maker – there is nothing like planning a concert series outdoors. Attending them, well, I’d done my fair share before joining the [...]
Listen: Man of the Streets After Ironing Board Sam wrapped up the Music Maker Blues Revue last night in Hillsborough, NC, I hurried up to him to give him a hug before we parted ways for the [...]
Ironing Board Sam’s newest, most jam-packed album, Double Bang!, is officially released and available in our music shop. Sam is having an incredible year – he just returned from the [...]
Aaron Greenhood and I have been working hard on photo shoots of Music Maker artists for the last couple of years. Lately, we have been learning and practicing the art of wet plate photography. [...]
If you step into the Music Maker office on any given day, it’s usually abuzz with a million different things: phone calls for Aaron from artists or agents looking to book artists, meetings [...]
Thanks to you, Music Maker received an $80,000 matching donation to close out our fiscal year. The donation, given by several generous Music Maker supporters, was made on the condition that Music [...]
Listen: Careless Love As a new intern at Music Makers, I have been introduced to so many great new artists and sounds. A graduate student in the school of social work at UNC Chapel Hill, I am [...]
There are many remarkable things about Music Maker artist Captain Luke, but the most identifiable – and usually the first you notice – is his deep bass singing voice. It rumbles in tracks like [...]
The first time that I saw Lakota John play was at the Fall edition of Shakori Hills, a local music festival that’s held out in the middle of nowhere, North Carolina. He was on stage in a [...]
Listen: Goog Golly Clyde Langford lives in Centerville, Texas, childhood home of blues legend Lightnin’ Hopkins. It was Lightnin’s brother that taught Clyde his first notes on the guitar. Clyde’s [...]
Get your tickets now! $25 for seated or standing, and $100 for special VIP tickets that include a meet & greet with the Drops! September 3rd, 7:30pm (Doors open 6:30pm) – The Hamilton, [...]
Last week we said bon voyage to our two French interns, Raphaël and Simon, who have been with us since last October. As they head back to France and University, they carry with them the many [...]
Long time friend, Music Maker supporter and ace photographer Mark Austin says, “its really pretty simple,” before he proceeds to blow our minds. It’s Saturday morning or a Wednesday afternoon and [...]
Listen: This Stuff Just Kills Me When I first started working with blues artists in the early 1990s, Jerry “Boogie” McCain was a legendary mythical figure who lived down in Alabama. I [...]
Ms. Pudding’s drink house is a neighborhood gathering space where people go to meet friends, have a drink and a fried bologna sandwich. The last time I was there, the Avon lady stopped by and my [...]
Part of the privilege of working with our artists is the opportunity to broker relationships with venues that help them establish a regular and reliable source of income. For Ironing Board Sam, [...]
We cannot believe the outpouring of support from you all for the Kickstarter funding TENTH. It more than DOUBLED its original goal! Check out the video below for a special thank-you from Tom.
Listen: Zydeco Feeling This week’s Diggin’ introduces Major Handy’s track ”Zydeco Feeling.” The first time I saw Major play, I was about a foot away from him, wedged into a booth with my feet [...]
Founder Tim Duffy has been recording artists for twenty years – now he’s releasing exclusive, limited edition compilations to Listener’s Circle Members! Music Maker has an [...]
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