03/07/12

Bluegrass with Johnny Staats

Johnny Staats is reinventing the tradition of the mandolin. “We’ve had Johnny play a few times,” says Joan Pitzer of the Preston Community Arts Center, where Johnny will take the stage on March 10, 2012. “He’s incredibly talented and is one of the cleanest mandolin players I’ve ever heard.” Johnny’s love of bluegrass started early—he picked up the mandolin at the age of seven. His entire family played music, and he learned to play by ear after the death of his teacher. “I took matters in my own hands, and learned to play by ear from listening to records and 8 tracks of Bill Monroe, Country Gentleman, and many more. There were many nights I listened to those guys all night long,” he says on his website. He went...

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