Eric Clapton was considered a guitar God…at least according to a famous bit of graffiti painted on a London wall in 1966.  So where does that put a virtuoso player like Mark Knopfler? Is it blasphemous to hold Knopfler on equal footing with Clapton? This is one of those arguments that can go on indefinitely among guitar-player aficionados. Can you really choose between a Stratocaster and a Les Paul? Read More…

There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t get numerous questions from WUMB Members sent my way.  It usually ends up being the proverbial Whitman’s Sampler of questions like “What year did that song come out?”, “Who was the singer in the background?”, or “I’ve never heard that song…where do I find it?”  All of course are excellent questions and I never mind answering them…but one of the most popular questions I get is “How do you select your music?”.  So with that, I figured maybe pulling back the curtain and explaining how we select our music might be an interesting topic. Read More…

This year we celebrate the 20th anniversary of WUMB’s Summer Acoustic Music Week.  SAMW began as the dream of Dick Pleasants, Lorraine Hammond and Bob Franke — a dream that first came to fruition on Thompson Island in 1996.  Since then it has grown into a unique, vibrant, music community with a local, national, and international following, and has changed the lives of countless people, students and instructors alike.  To honor our 20th year, we are looking to celebrate in style with a concert and Gala on September 26, 2015 at the Quincy Marriott!  The event will include dinner, music by an internationally revered guitar star, (whose name we can disclose yet), their band, and of course great general merriment and shared appreciation for SAMW’s own leading lights.  Read More…