Civil War Banjo Conference At Antietam In Md.
SHARPSBURG, Md. (AP) -- A weekend conference at the Antietam National Battlefield is exploring the link between the banjo and the Civil War.
The National Museum of Civil War Medicine is sponsoring the Early American Banjo Conference starting Friday at Pry House Field Hospital Museum on the battlefield.
Organizers say the event will bring together experts on the history, construction and playing of an instrument that originated in Africa and became a staple of American minstrel, folk, jazz, bluegrass and country music.
The gathering includes both scholarly discussion and public concerts on Saturday and Sunday.
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