Lewis “Big Sweet” Hairston (1929-?) performs his rendition of the African American folk ballad “John Henry”.

The story of John Henry is also told in the form of a legend, and generally follows the premise that John Henry was a steel driver (During the days of railway development and construction through out the United States), and that, at some point during his career, he is challenged by a steam-powered drilling machine which threatened to replace the work of steel drivers like Henry and his coworkers.

Amythyst Kiah was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. Her father (who is also her tour manager) sang and played percussion in a band in the 1970s. Her mother sang in the church growing up. She attended a creative arts high school and taught herself to play guitar. When she was 17 her mother committed suicide, and singing at her funeral was Kiah's third public performance.

Kiah is a graduate of East Tennessee State University, where she completed the Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies program and joined the school's marquee old-time band.

On this episode, I speak with singer, songwriter, and music educator Hannah Mayree about her journey in music, culture, tradition, and the Black Banjo Reclamation Project. 

We are proud to release a new video from our Live Outside series recently recorded and filmed in the ancient West African Village of Kirina, Mali. This performance features Mahamadou Diabate and Sayba Diabate on the traditional instruments, calabash and kora, as well as PFC Band member, Roberto Luti, on steel guitar.

Banjo maker Jim Hartel shows us old banjos, derived from instruments made by African slaves, plays the minstrel tune "Jim Along Josie," and tells about turn-of-the-century banjo models and playing styles. 

Their instruments are discarded gas cans, animals hides and whatever else they can scavenge to produce a tune. But they do make music.

It was from the late 1970s that young boys with homemade banjos were increasingly seen at street corners, on country roads and around towns in Malawi. They began to not only to construct banjos but also guitars, percussive devices as well as a huge bass banjo/guitar, usually with a single string, played with stick or a bottle as a slider.