(NUNAL) (EYEBALL)

We just finished the 2nd Annual Festival of Texas Fiddling in Burton, TX on November 7. This was the festival I founded and for which I serve as Artistic Director. I've been behind getting video and pictures up as this is a busy part of the semester, but I will do so very shortly and then post them here. This year, for the first time, we gave a new Master of Texas Fiddling Award to two important figures in the state. First is Don Jose Moreno, the great Rio Grande Valley Valley fiddler. Here is a nice article about him getting the award . The second Master of Texas Fiddling Award went to Washington County Texas-Polish fiddler Daniel Cendalski, who blew everyone away with his fiddling and his spirit. This gives you a taste:

I gave a talk for the VWC-NSU 1619 Symposium called "The African Roots and American Journey of the Banjo," and was sent this kind of blurry picture of me surrounded by a handful of banjos. I made an akonting (you can see the neck on the left) and a gourd banjo for the talk. That one up front is an old banjeaurine I've been informed that you are not a collector of banjos until you have 100 of them...

A friend of mine in Houston who has a deep knowledge of about every kind of music just sent me some videos of Vietnamese music there. I had no idea this music featured the steel guitar, and no idea it was this great. this first one is just perfect