This week on Mandolin Mondays we're joined by Australian mandolinist Justin Vilchez playing the Kenny Baker tune "Salty" on his Duff mandolin. A mandolinist from Australia, Justin Vilchez began his musical journey playing music at the age of eight. His love for melody led him to pursue a bachelor's degree in jazz and contemporary music. He then ventured overseas to Canada, where he joined the well-established bluegrass band, The Local Group, in 2018. With the band, he has recorded two albums and toured extensively across western Canada, performing at notable festivals such as Blueberry Blue ..read more

This week on Mandolin Mondays we're joined by Italian mandolinist Laetitia Barbera playing "Pelagias's Song" from the movie Captain Corelli's mandolin. Born in Taormina, a beautiful town in Sicily, Laetitia began her studies in piano, double bass and mandolin at the Messina Conservatory at a very young age. She's a member of the centennial "Orchestra a plettro di Taormina." Laetitia developed her career in Europe, playing with the Orchestra de púas in Paris and London. She currently resides in Barcelona where she actively participates in the music groups Ars Tunae, Trinacria Duo, Maracuyá a ..read more

This week on Mandolin Mondays we're joined by Icelandic mandolinist Guðmundur Atli Pétursson of the band Brek playing an original untitled composition on his 2010 Andrew Mowry mandolin. Guðmundur has worked with the bluegrass band Illgresi, as well as participating in various projects such as playing musical instruments on recordings and concerts with Baggalút, Brother Grass, Krumma and others. Now he plays with the new Icelandic folk band Brek. They released their first album in June 2021, and the album was selected for album of the year in folk and word music at the Icelandic Music Awards ..read more

Returning to Mandolin Mondays this week, we're joined by multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Andy Leftwich and his Gilchrist mandolin to share an original tune called "Kimper County" from his brand new solo album. Four-time GRAMMY-winning instrumentalist Andy Leftwich began playing the fiddle at the age of six, entering his first contest at seven and winning the National Championship for Beginners at the age of twelve. By the time he was a teenager, he had appeared on the Grand Ole Opry and “Music City Tonight” with Crook and Chase, and had established a reputation as a winning contest fid ..read more

Returning to Mandolin Mondays this week, we have the incredible Emory Lester playing an original tune called "Kings Quest" on his Heiden Heritage Model. EMORY LESTER is one of this day's foremost exponents of the acoustic mandolin. The power and attach of his mandolin playing are unmatched, and his sound is infectious. His landmark mandolin-featured recording projects have placed him among the elite mandolinists of our time. His latest solo recording titled 'At Dusk' showcases Emory's musical creativity, and skill as a mandolinist and multi-instrumentalist. Emory has undeniably inspired and ..read more

Oi amigos do Mandolin Cafe! April 23 we celebrated National Choro Day in Brazil. So, taking the suggestion of my "newsroom" (haha), I decided to write about the beginnings of this genre of music I love. I took the opportunity to invite someone to help me with the subject, who, in my opinion, is one of the people who has the deepest knowledge about Choro history. Fortunately, it happens to be my sister, Corina Meyer Ferreira! The translation of the word Choro is "crying," or "weeping," meaning that Choro would be a more sentimental or weeping/sad way to play European music. According to th ..read more

This week on Mandolin Mondays we're joined by UK mandolinist Abbey Thomas of the band Blue Lass playing a beautiful original tune called "End of the Night Waltz" on her Capek F5 mandolin. Growing up in the far corner of Cornwall, Abbey Thomas had to travel far and wide to find the music she loved. She soon bought a mandolin and began to focus on American folk genres including bluegrass and old-time music, and now her mandolin playing is confident with a rich tone, and a style heavily inspired by the likes of John Reischman and Joe K Walsh. Mandolin in hand, she performs regularly with multi ..read more

This week on Mandolin Mondays we're joined by classical mandolinist Charlotte Kaiser from Saarbrücken, Germany playing a stuning performance of the Jiro Nakano Fantasia no.2 Op.43. Charlotte discovered the mandolin at the age of five and made music the center of her life ever since. In 2023 she completed her artistic master’s degree with Juan Carlos Muñoz at the Saar University of Music with distinction. She is the winner of various national and international competitions and twice concertmaster of the European Mandolin and Guitar Youth Orchestra (EGMYO). In addition to her solo work, she's ..read more

This week on Mandolin Mondays we're joined by Special Consensus mandolinist Michael Prewitt playing a killer version of the Bill Monroe tune "Tombstone Junction" on this Pava #498 F5 mandolin. International Bluegrass Music Association award nominee Michael Prewitt was born and raised in the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains in rural Whitley County, Kentucky, outside of the town of Williamsburg. It was there he learned to play bluegrass music, first on the fiddle and then on what would quickly become his life’s musical love, the mandolin. After a stint in North Dakota and Minnesota, he n ..read more

Returning to Mandolin Mondays this week, we have Alan Epstein with us playing the old classic "Soldier's Joy" on his brand new Gilchrist Model 4 #841 mandolin. Alan appeared on Mandolin Mondays 6 years ago to the day, and since then he's been busy teaching and playing the mandolin, and cooking! In June of 2021, after 25 years of being an active mandolin teacher, Alan took a 1 year break to go to Culinary School but is now back teaching and playing music again. He's been offering in-person mandolin classes at the Caffe Lena Music School in Saratoga Springs. His next mandolin classes are bein ..read more