sano: Main stage performances are live-streamed on www.koto.org beginning at about noon today.

Ah, chatting about music sounds better than chatting about politics.

T Bone Burnett is being interviewed right now. They're talking about Leon Russell, Byron Berline (who, like John Prine, died from Dementia Don's neglected pandemic disease, Covid), and Derek & The Dominos. And Vietnam. After T. Bone, Sam Bush stopped by for a chat.

As for Molly Tuttle, she's the best. Literally. Chris Thile is crazy talented too. The poor mandolin seems to be the Rodney Dangerfield of wooden instruments. Sierra Hall is another of my favorite mando-phenoms. And John Jorgenson (who, like Steve Winwood and Paul McCartney, seems to be able to play just about any instrument) plays it well. And Andrew Marlin of Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange)-- seeing Watchhouse next week -- is outstanding. And Chris Hillman ain't bad.

We saw Chris Hillman before the pandemic and he told the story about his mandolin. Stills had invited Hillman to play on some sessions on a solo album in the 1970s and said to him “You know that mandolin you’ve been playing onstage? It’s really bad.”

Hillman said he knew. The sound, he confessed, was poor. Stills said, “Here, try this one,” and handed him a hard shell case. Inside was a 1923 Gibson Lloyd Loar F-5. Hillman played it and said, “Yeah, this is beautiful.” Stills said: “It's yours.” Hillman said he couldn't accept such a wildly expensive gift and Stills told him without him the Springfield would never have been the House band at The Troubadour (Hillman knew the owner and talked him into letting the Springfield audition), might never have recorded, which meant there might never have been a CSN/CSNY. In short, Stills owned much to Hillman.

A 1923 Lloyd Loar F-5 runs $125,000-$200,000 and up today.

Let me recommend someone else I just "discovered": Joshua Lee Turner. He's playing now with Allison Young as The Bygones.

Here's their cover of "Plastic Jesus": YouTube: Allison Young & Joshua Lee Turner - Plastic Jesus (Official) (Josh Turner Guitar)

Here's Turner playing all the instruments and doing all the voices on a cover of Tom Petty's "American Girl": YouTube: American Girl - Tom Petty (Josh Turner Guitar Cover) (Josh Turner Guitar)

Lots more on YouTube.

And for anyone who doesn't know Watchhouse, here's a sample: YouTube: Video, starts 0 min 43 sec in