I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Spencer Strickland, an award-winning mandolin player who’s part of the Church Sisters — one of the groups featured on the amazing Orthophonic Joy album that you need to hear immediately if you haven’t already — and the Virginia Luthiers, which is a group of instrument makers who play what bassist Gerald Anderson calls “Doc Watson kind of music.” But Strickland isn’t just an award-winning player — he’s also a record-setting one, as he was among the 493 pickers who came together at this year’s Old Fiddler’s Convention and successfully broke the Guinness World Record for largest mandolin ensemble.

I wrote this here Richmond Navigator article about the record being broken, and I hope you’ll check it out. What a cool story it was to tell — community pride expressed through the music that community helped to establish. I love it. Click here to read the article, and here for information about the Richmond Folk Festival — both the Church Sisters and the Virginia Luthiers will be there!

The Church Sisters — “Where We’ll Never Grow Old” [Spotify/iTunes]

The Virginia Luthiers — Made and Played Workshop (2014 Richmond Folk Festival) [Soundcloud]