Global Banjar: International Voices in Antebellum Banjo Music

Banjo Music Illuminates History
On Thursday, October 5, the Friends of the Jaffrey Library welcome The Hardtacks, a group founded in 2012 to perform folk music of the Civil War Era. Marek Bennett and Woody Pringle present their unique program “Global Banjar: International Voices in Antebellum Banjo Music,” using banjo music and lyrics to vividly depict life and politics in the early 19^th century.  The Hardtacks dig deep into the hidden corners of the past, and shed new light on the echoes still sounding today – American music will never sound the same to you again!
Between 1820 and 1860, the banjo transformed from an African-inspired gourd instrument built and played primarily by slaves on Southern plantations to an international pop phenomenon manufactured and sold in Northern cities and towns. Banjo songs and playing techniques carried far and wide in the emerging global economy: from the streets of New York’s “Five Points” slums to the gold fields of California and the elite drawing rooms of London, from the battlegrounds of Nicaragua to official diplomatic receptions in Japan!
New Hampshire native Marek Bennett is an award-winning cartoonist and musician who teaches and performs comics and music at schools and libraries throughout New England.  He holds B.A.s in Music and Mathematics (Brown University) and an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction (Keene State College), and is a rostered teaching artist with the NH State Council on the Arts, Children’s Literacy Foundation, and the Arts Alliance of Northern NH.  Marek’s latest graphic novel, The Civil War Diary of Freeman Colby, details one NH teacher’s experiences in the 39th Massachusetts Regiment.
Woody Pringle is both a musician and educator teaching at many NH colleges and organizations. His credentials include B.A. in Social Science (Johnson State College) and MBA (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute). His band Bradford Bog People often airs on NH Public Radio’s Folk Show and on many radio stations throughout the country.

“Global Banjar: International Voices in Antebellum Banjo Music” is made possible by a NH Humanities grant and is held at the Jaffrey Library. It is free and open to the public. However, the Friends would welcome donations of a few books in good condition to help stock its ongoing book sales.