Master Clawhammer banjo player and author Bob Carlin Concert & Book Signing

Bob Carlin is probably the best known clawhammer style banjoist performing today. He has taken the distinctive southern banjo style to appreciative audiences all over the US, Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan. Carlin is a three-time winner of the Frets Magazine readers poll, and has four Rounder albums and several instruction manuals and videos for the banjo.

Bob is not only highly sought after for his musical talent and entertaining showmanship, but also for his amazing skill as a producer for the music industry and traditional music researcher. He has produced a large number of CDs that are well-known to fans of old-time and bluegrass music, and has authored numerous magazine articles and books for a wide range of publications. In addition to performing for us, Bob will be signing copies of his newly published book, My Memories of John Hartford. This is a show not to be missed!

My Memories of John Hartford is a memoir about author Bob’s years working alongside singer, songwriter, banjoist, and fiddler John Hartford (1937-2001). Throughout his short life, Hartford was a hit tunesmith, festival headliner, and godfather of newgrass music. He also made contributions to the film and television industry as a star in The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour and helped create the soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Carlin and Hartford first met when Carlin interviewed the entertainer for Fresh Air with Terry Gross. From this first meeting over microphones developed a sixteen-year affiliation. Six years into their friendship, a working collaboration grew between the two. Carlin first accompanied John Hartford on several albums, eventually becoming his project manager for audio and video recordings. Finally, Carlin was recruited into John Hartford’s last Stringband, for which he also served as the de facto road manager and right-hand guy.

My Memories of John Hartford opens with an overview of the years before Hartford and Carlin’s friendship, then details the last fifteen years of John Hartford’s life. Included are in-depth descriptions of Hartford’s lifestyle, as well as his philosophies about music, performing, recording, and living as he expressed them to the author or to those around him, with some road stories thrown in for good measure. And, those last fifteen years of his short life, while tempered by available information, are viewed here through the impressionist lenses of the author’s own experience.