"Richard Johnston: Hill Country Troubadour," my documentary about the amazing street musician and one-man-band Richard Johnston, will be shown on November 29th at the Don Gibson Theater in Shelby, North Carolina. The special screening will be a part of the state of North Carolina’s celebration hosting the Smithsonian Institution’s "New Harmonies" traveling exhibit.

The exhibit commemorates the legacy of American music with interactive kiosks devoted to jazz, the blues, R&B, bluegrass, country western, zydeco, Cajun, Tejano, klezmer, folk, and gospel. It traces the emergence of such genres to African influences and the traditions of early European immigrants to North America. New Harmonies “tells a new American story” with displays of vintage sheet music, photographs, and instruments such as the dulcimer, banjo, diddley bow, spoons, washboard, and drums. A listening station provides an opportunity to experience music firsthand with legendary performers such as B.B. King, Joan Baez, Woody Guthrie, Mahalia Jackson, Bob Dylan, and Earl Scruggs.

New Harmonies is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress.

For more information:
The Don Gibson Theater
Destination Cleveland County, NC
Richard Johnston: Hill Country Troubadour

Max Shores.

The second annual UK Cigar Box Guitar Festival will take place on Saturday, October 16th at The Public in West Bromwich, West Midlands (near Birmingham) and I’m pleased to announce that “Songs Inside The Box” will be screened at the event.

“Songs Inside The Box” is a documentary about cigar box guitar enthusiasts who communicated over the Internet and decided to get together in person at an annual event in Alabama. The Alabama Cigar Box Guitar Extravaganza has been the longest running such event and now the UK festival is following in its footsteps.

Just like the Alabama festival, the UK festival came about as a result of discussions on the Internet. Both festivals owe a debt of thanks to Shane Speal, the self-proclaimed “King of the Cigar Box Guitar” who created avenues for communication among cigar box guitar builders and players around the world. Speal is the founder of CigarBoxNation.com and discussions there inspired member Chickenbone John to establish the UK event.

I’m very proud that “Songs Inside The Box” will be a part of this event and wish everyone there all the best!

For more information:

CigarBoxNation.com discussion about the Festival

Information from ChickenBoneJohn.com

Information from The Public.com

Songs Inside The Box website

Max Shores.

It was announced on December 30th, 2009 that "Songs Inside The Box," the cigar box guitar documentary won an Honorable Mention award from the Los Angeles Reel Film Festival. Despite the name, this isn’t a real film festival because it doesn’t include screenings of the selected films. It’s simply an awards competition, but I’m still quite honored that my work has been recognized.

According to the festival website:
"The Los Angeles Reel Film Festival was founded by a group of industry professionals whose aim is to seek out, acknowledge, and award the many talented independent filmmakers and screenwriters who may not get the recognition they deserve through many of the more political and commercial film festivals. The LARFF recognizes filmmakers and screenwriters who demonstrate exceptional achievement in craft and creativity. All genres of film, music videos and scripts are accepted by The LARFF and each will be judged thoroughly by accomplished award winning directors, producers and industry executives."

"Songs Inside The Box" is a really fun documentary and I’d like for as many people as possible to see it. If you haven’t yet, look for it on your PBS station in 2010. When I know dates, I’ll post them here.

The people who are in the documentary are the reason it has won several awards and I would like to thank them for sharing themselves through the documentary.

For more about "Songs Inside The Box," go to SongsInsideTheBox.com.

Pictured above: Robert Hamilton with Shane Speal, King of the Cigar Box Guitar

Max Shores.