Where is the best place in town to get a cheesesteak? With whizz, or American cheese? On a hoagie roll, or a grinder? With peppers and onions or without? Well Señor, we could Bob and weave around that question all day but there are other important things to discuss.
As your cardigan-clad keepers of knowledge, the information gathered, and shared are as important, and serve a vital purpose to our community. It’s not just about books, it’s also about the music. In September, the community will have a chance to see, and hear firsthand about a great musical instrument of Americana, the banjo.
What is the banjo, one might ask? Is it a cousin of the guitar? The ukulele’s long distant relative from Appalachia? The banjo, a stringed instrument prominent in American folk, bluegrass, and jazz, has its roots in West Africa and was brought to the Americas by enslaved Africans. Initially crafted with gourd bodies and animal hide, it evolved through minstrel shows, and factory production into the modern banjo many have come to know and love. Just ask comedian Steve Martin.
Why in our very own library system, you can learn about Banjo Hackett, a fictional tale starring legendary Dallas Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith, as a free-spirited horse trader who travels the American West in search of a rare Arabian mare. Accompanied by his orphaned nephew, Banjo faces stiff competition from bounty hunter Sam Ivory – played by the late Chuck Conners, star of the hit television Western “The Rifleman” – a dirty skunk who’ll stop at nothing to claim the $10,000 reward for the mare’s capture.
Perhaps your little one wants to hear a new bedtime story? May we recommend, Banjo Granny by Sarah Martin Busse? In this charming tale, Baby Owen’s grandmother, the aforementioned Banjo Granny, learns that Baby Owen is wiggly, jiggly, and all-around giggly for bluegrass music, so with her banjo, she travels by curious means to visit and play for him.
For your next lazy day, Verde River read- but please, don’t drop the book into the water – why not put a library hold on Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History by Kristina R. Gaddy? The book is an illuminating history of the banjo, revealing its origins at the crossroads of slavery, religion, and music. In an extraordinary story unfolding across two hundred years, Kristina Gaddy uncovers the banjo’s key role in Black spirituality, ritual, and rebellion. Through meticulous research in diaries, letters, archives, and art, she traces the banjo’s beginnings from the seventeenth century, when enslaved people of African descent created it from gourds or calabashes and wood.
Gaddy shows how the enslaved carried this unique instrument as they were transported and sold by slave owners throughout the Americas, to Suriname, the Caribbean, and the colonies that became U.S. states, including Louisiana, South Carolina, Maryland, and New York. African Americans came together at rituals where the banjo played an essential part. White governments, rightfully afraid that the gatherings could instigate revolt, outlawed them without success. In the mid-nineteenth century, Blackface minstrels appropriated the instrument for their bands, spawning a craze. Eventually the banjo became part of jazz, bluegrass, and country, its deepest history forgotten.
There are over 202 items related to the banjo in the Yavapai County Library databases, covering everything from books, audiobooks, ebooks, music, and movies. If you’re ready for your deep dive into the world of banjo, it’s only a click away. However to truly know the banjo, sometimes one just needs to be able to experience it. But where can you go to hear live banjo music in Sedona? In September. On a Friday evening. Glad you asked. The public is invited to attend a free banjo concert at 6PM on September 5, at the library.
Come by the library after hours, in the main lobby and hear music performed by Dusty Trail Mix! Dusty Trail Mix brings their bluegrass talent to Sedona for an evening that celebrates the joy of acoustic music. Featuring Paul Schiminger on banjo, Sheila McCormick on bass, and Reno McCormick on guitar and mandolin, with twangy banjos, driving rhythms, and heartfelt harmonies, the group captures the spirit of traditional roots music while making it accessible for all listeners. Whether discovering the sound of a banjo for the first time or reconnecting with a lifelong love of bluegrass, audiences are invited to experience the warmth and energy of this performance. Dusty Trail Mix offers a perfect introduction to the genre, giving audiences a taste of the energy and artistry that bluegrass brings to the stage.
This free, community event also sets the stage for a special musical highlight later in the month: The library welcomes the Alison Brown Quintet. Grammy Award–winning banjo artist Alison Brown, John Ragusa on flute, Chris Walters on piano, Garry West on bass, and Jordan Perlson on drums will headline the library’s first capital campaign fundraiser on September 28th at a special benefit concert at the Sedona Performing Arts Center. Alison Brown is one of today’s most forward-thinking and innovative banjo players, renowned for taking the banjo far beyond its Appalachian roots by blending bluegrass and jazz influences into a wide array of roots-influenced music: folk, jazz, Celtic and Latin. In March, Brown released the single “5 Days Out, 2 Days Back,” a collaboration with Steve Martin and Tim O’Brien. More information can be found on communitylibrarysedona.org.
There sure are a lot of cool things happening in our not so quiet library. And a lot more is planned before the turkey, menorah, and tree are displayed. Are you in the know? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, just visit the website, give us a call, or stop in! It’s always great to see our patrons, after all the library is where new friends come to meet. Community Library Sedona is also a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your gifts and support, just like the Friends’ contributions, allow us to provide a plethora of services and programs for the community, for free, all year long. Visit communitylibrarysedona.org/donate to make an online gift today.
As published by Red Rock News
Library News Column for August 29, 2025, by Jan Marc Quisumbing, Scheduling Coordinator