This past weekend, my wife and friends attended an all day event for the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame.
It is a combination of family reunion, revival and some of the greatest jamming you have heard! To set the scene, there is a full band set up in the ballroom for a rotating set of pickers and singers to “do their thing”. Then in the surrounding meeting rooms there are Bluegrass, Cowboy Music, Karaoke and maybe even hip-hop jams. The sweet sounds of fiddle, guitar, banjo and bass are everywhere.

So what does this have to do with my new guitar…?

Well, part of the fund-raising for the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame included raffles for a fiddle and guitar from guitar builder Michael Daugherty. The guitar is a D28 Herringbone style complete with scalloped bracing and other features of that instrument. So between the jam sessions, I bought a few tickets to the raffle. Later that evening during the presentation of the honors and awards, the drawing was held. First the fiddle was awarded then (dramatic pause goes here) the guitar. Much to my delight and surprise, the name called from the stage was mine! Wow! I can’t tell you how excited I was. It was truly a blessing and one of the “aha” details is the inlay on the headstock is a mother-of-pearl letter “D”, which happens to be my initial. So not only do I have a new guitar, but it is also monogrammed for me!

I want to thank Michael Daugherty for building and donating the instrument; the staff of the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame and Rick Smith for inviting us there!