Bluegill Buddies, Washington, MO
Using banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and guitar, the Bluegill Buddies perform traditional mountain music that was found in the Appalachia and Ozarks regions. Most of the songs and tunes were learned from family members and from studying field recordings made fifty-plus years ago.
They have performed at music festivals, historic sites, and craft festivals in Missouri. Both members have performed individually as far away as New Mexico and Kentucky.
Don's main instrument is the banjo. He plays several that are in different tunings. He has two pre-1900 banjos as well as a fretless gourd banjo (yes, it is made using a real gourd). He also plays the fiddle and guitar.
Linda Jo enjoys playing guitar. She also uses different tunings so she normally carries three guitars. Two of these guitars are worth noting; one is a pre-World War I parlor (small body) and another is a circa 1950 Kay F-hole guitar. She also plays an octave mandolin (a large body mandolin), an unusual 1930 Kay mandolin and a 1924 Gibson A-body mandolin.
Don is a serious historian of pre-World War II traditional music while Linda Jo's day job is in a school's music department. They have both lectured on the history of mountain music and the instruments that are used to perform this music.
