There is no singular event that brings people together around music like fiddler’s conventions. All across the South, every summer and fall, people gather at state parks and fairgrounds to share [...]
Lee Gates grew up in Pontotoc, MS, his father African-American, his mother a Native American. He is first cousin to the blues legend Albert Collins. In his 20s he migrated up to Milwaukee, WI [...]
Music Maker lost one of our dearest friends and supporters in February. Denise and I met John Creech when we first moved to Winston-Salem, NC in 1988. We became fast friends, played a great deal [...]
Early in Music Maker’s history, blues legend Taj Mahal traveled to visit. My wife Denise and I were renting an old farmhouse in Pinnacle, NC that was both our home and Music Maker’s headquarters. [...]
Eddie Tigner was working in a school cafeteria in Atlanta, GA, when I first heard about him in 1995. He had toured the country running an Inkspots group for 35 years. He had played every Holiday [...]
Dr. Burt, from Birmingham, Al, grew up during the historic fight for Civil Rights. His mother was very involved in the movement and worked directly with Corretta Scott King; as a young man he [...]
When I think of Black History month, I often reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Freedom Riders down in Birmingham, AL. Over the years Music Maker has had the great pleasure of [...]
Having a regular, reliable gig is something working musicians depend on to keep make ends meet. In the South, many of our artists are paid to play every Sunday in the church. No matter how late [...]
