Folks

Just a quick note to let you know that the next Midwest Banjo Camp is now open for registration. The dates are June 2-4, 2006, and the place, once again, is the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing.

We had a great first run, and we hope that the '06 camp will be even better. Thanks to students' helpful suggestions, we expect that the program will be still more useful, and that things in general will run even smoother.

Although we could have happily brought back our entire staff from last year, we determined that in all likelihood most returning students would like to experience at least some new styles and approaches. So we came up with a blend of familiar faces and newcomers that we hope you'll be excited about.

Here's how it breaks down so far:

Bluegrbutt: Our bluegrbutt staff this year brings back Bill Evans, Alan Munde and Bill Keith, with Murphy Henry once again leading the novice program. Our newcomers are Janet Beazley, Tony Ellis, Ross Nickerson, and Butch Robins.

Old-time: Our old-time staff brings back Dan Gellert, Brad Leftwich, Michael Miles and Ken Perlman. Our newcomers are Cathy Barton Para and Bob Carlin, plus the co-leaders of our novice program, Arnie Naiman and Chris Coole.

So far our special guests include Alan Jabbour on old time fiddle, Peter Knupfer on bluegrbutt fiddle, and Dave Para on old-time guitar.

We'll hope to add on additional teachers and special guests if it looks like our attendance will be significantly larger than last year's.

As before you can access artists' bios, logistical information, and our registration form on our website, www.midwestbanjocamp.com. If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to email us via

Ken Perlman and Stan Werbin Directors