Banjo Business in Norfolk

Allison Brown will headline Infinity Hall Norfolk on Thursday, June 6.
Provided
Allison Brown will headline Infinity Hall Norfolk on Thursday, June 6.
Bridging the banjo spectrum from Harvard to Hazard, Grammy-winning musician Allison Brown will headline Infinity Hall Norfolk June 6.
Brown grew up in North Stamford, Conn., and started playing guitar when she was eight. She soon discovered another stringed sound that piqued her interest.
“I was taking guitar lessons from Paul Guernsey. He brought a copy of Flatt and Scruggs’ “Foggy Mountain” album. That was my introduction to the banjo, and I just loved the sound. Paul gave me a few banjo lessons, and when my family relocated to La Jolla California in the mid 1970s, I discovered the San Diego Bluegrass Club. My focus shifted to banjo after that,” Brown says.
She learned to play Scrugg’s-style 5 string banjo (with 2 finger picks and a thumb pick on her right hand). Though her music veers into other styles (jazz, Latin, Celtic), she primarily uses Scrugg’s technique.
Her path to success has been unusual. After completing undergraduate studies at Harvard and receiving an MBA from UCLA, Brown worked in investment banking. But she missed bluegrass so much that when Alison Krauss called looking for a banjo player, she dropped her Wall Street career to pursue music. She toured with Alison Krauss and Union Station, and Michelle Shocked before forming her own group, The Alison Brown Quartet, in 1993.
“The lure of the banjo was just too much to resist. And I just couldn’t muster that much passion for tax exempt bonds. But I’ve put my MBA to work as co-founder of Compass Records, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year,” Brown says.
Since then, she has performed at festivals throughout the USA and Europe. Her band traveled to Latin America and to Japan as Friendship Ambassadors on behalf of the Nashville Mayor’s office to celebrate a new sister city relationship between Kamakura, Japan and Music City.
When asked about the connection between different global styles of banjo, Brown says,
“There are banjo-like instruments in a lot of cultures: the shamisen in Japan and the pipa in China for example. But the banjo that we know in the United States came from the enslaved people from West Africa. Over the course of the 1800s, it developed from being a handmade instrument into a mass-produced instrument and by the end of that 19th century, the banjo was America’s most popular instrument. It was actually the minstrel shows in the early to mid 1800s that brought the banjo to the UK and Ireland. It’s an incredibly versatile instrument in my opinion, and in its long history it has been a part of a lot of different genres: jazz, ragtime, classical (thinking about the banjo orchestras in the late 1800s), old time – all of that before Earl Scruggs ever played a lick. I’ve always felt it’s part of the banjo’s DNA to explore different musical styles.”
Brown has played with many of the greats, including Allison Krauss and Steve Martin.
“Both are incredible artists. Alison’s band gave me the opportunity to dig into the roots of bluegrass and travel through the parts of the country where bluegrass music was created. Steve is very inspiring. He’s a great banjo player with a gorgeous touch on the instrument as well as being a very intuitive writer. We’ve been writing music together lately, including our newest single “Bluegrass Radio” which came out in March and debuted at #1 on the Bluegrass chart.”
Brown is also the co-founder of Compass Records Group, which oversees a catalog of nearly 1,000 releases across multiple labels. She serves on the Board of the Nashville Chapter of the Recording Academy, the adjunct faculty of Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music and as co-chair of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize.
And she’s released a new album called “On Banjo”, which she recorded at Compass Sound Studio in Nashville. Technology allowed her to collaborate from afar during the pandemic.
“Those strange times created the opportunity for remote collaborations with artists who were stuck at home since no one was on the road. Sharon Isbin and Anat Cohen recorded their parts remotely to tracks we did in Nashville. It was a different approach, but it opened up a way of thinking about how and whom you could collaborate with,” she says.
For her show at Infinity Hall Norfolk, Brown will perform with John Ragusa (flute), Mason Embry (piano), Garry West (bass) and Bryan Brock (drums). She also has family onboard.
“My daughter Hannah is going to be joining us as a special guest vocalist. She just graduated from Berklee College of Music, and it’s always a blast when she sits in with the band. Our set will include some original tunes, some familiar tunes, and some audio-visual accompaniment. The show offers something for everyone,” she says.
SHARON — James H. Fox, resident of Sharon, passed away on May 30, 2025, at Vassar Brothers Hospital.
Born in New York, New York, to Herbert Fox and Margaret Moser, James grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. He spent his summers in Gaylordsville, Connecticut, where he developed a deep connection to the community.
James attended Millbrook School, Ripon College, and the Culinary Institute of America in New Haven, Connecticut.
He proudly served in the Navy and his dedication to his craft led him to later own several restaurants, including the renowned Fox & Fox in Gaylordsville, and most recently, Panini Cafe in Kent. He went on to become a staple at the Cornwall Farmer’s Market, known for his delicious soups.
James lived in Sharon, for 20 years, where he cherished the serenity tending to the gardens and property. Perpetually in motion, he filled his days with gardening, tending his property, and engaging in hobbies such as collecting model cars, woodworking, and perfecting his culinary creations.He never hesitated to take on a new project, no matter the scope.Not many 82-year-olds can say they fully remodeled a bathroom single handedly.After a full day of work, one of his greatest joys was relaxing at the end of the day in front of the fireplace.
James is survived by his constant companion of 22 years, Kathie Dolan; his two sons; Adam Fox of Montpelier, Vermont and Emmett Fox of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; his brother, Tom Fox of Phoenix, Arizona; his brother-in-law, Gary Sarachan of St. Louis; and several nieces, including Sydney Fox Sarachan of St. Louis, Carrie Fox of Phoenix, and Amanda Fox of Columbus, Ohio. He also leaves behind his grandson, Aidan Fox of New Hampshire, extended family, Erin Dolan, Megan Mollica, Rory Dolan, his dog, Django, and his cat, William.
James will be deeply missed by all who knew him. His unique sense of humor and culinary excellence will live on in the hearts of his family and friends.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
All services are private.
FALLS VILLAGE — Richard Stone of Main Street passed away June 25, 2025, at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington.
Born Feb. 12, 1942, in Ossining, New York, Richard was son of the late Howard Stone and Victoria (Smith) Stone.
He attended public schools in Ossining and then studied architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. After graduation he became a licensed architect.
Richard admired contemporary architecture by Corbusier, Philip Johnson, and Louis Kahn, but also many earlier and folk designs. His projects included re-erecting, at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, the 18th century Chinese house “Yin Yu Tang”, and also restoration of the historic Delaware & Hudson office building in Albany, New York. Broad cultural interests led him to travel around the world, but especially in Caribbean lands and Latin America.
Long a resident of Falls Village, Richard had a concern for the built environment surrounding him. More importantly, he cherished neighbors, church, and friends near and far.
Richard is survived by his three brothers; Thomas of Peabody, Massachusetts, William of Canaan, New Hampshire, and Kenneth of Medford, Massachusetts, their wives, and many nieces, nephews, and step siblings.
A service will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church, 484 Lime Rock Road, Lakeville, Connecticut, on Thursday, July 31, at 11:30 a.m.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
Peter Cusack teaching at the Scoville Library.
When Peter Cusack first moved from New York City to Torrington, Connecticut pre-Covid, he thought he was going to be alone. “Wasn’t that ridiculous?” he said now, laughing. “I thought I was the only artist up here. Then I quickly learned that if you throw a stone, you hit an artist.”
In 2019, Cusack launched the Journal of Cornwall Contemporary Art (COCOA), originally imagined as a sort of art salon-meets-magazine-meets-espresso bar. “I realized I could channel this energy and give all these artists something to do and write about,” he said. “I had this idea of creating an exhibition space modeled after the Center for Italian Art in Soho,” he continued. “It would be beautiful, with a library and an espresso machine... but I couldn’t pull it off. I just needed more money than I had.”
So instead, he built the magazine. “I thought, let’s create a space for conversation. It was a literary magazine for artists.” COCOA ran quarterly for four years but quickly became a full-time endeavor, filled with deeply considered layouts and writing.“Production took over and it just became 24-7. I wasn’t painting. It was too much.”
Today, Cusack balances painting, teaching, and mentoring and infuses it all with his own blend of formal rigor and improvisational warmth. He teaches regularly at the Scoville Library and White Hart Inn in Salisbury, as well as one day a week at The Art Studio NY. His program, “The Vivid Color of Experience,” combines traditional skill-building with Zen-inflected awareness and encouragement. “The idea is that all of your life’s experience gives you momentum for learning,” he explained. “Everyone already comes with so much; they just need to be shown the path.”
Cusack’s teaching style is hands-on but reflective. His curriculum is structured, but always responsive to the individual. “When someone’s doing independent study, they come to a block, and that’s when I start really teaching. When their teacup is empty, that’s when I add a little.”
His students often express amazement at what they can do under his guidance. “People say, ‘I didn’t know I could draw this,’ or ‘This is the first time anyone has actually taught me.’ That’s why I’m so passionate about it.”
Rebecca Schweiger, founder of The Art Studio NY, said of Cusack, “He’s devoted to his students, and they adore him. People are so surprised at how much they can learn in such a short time.”
After graduating from Syracuse University as an English major, Cusack spent five years in publishing, including at “Consumer Reports.”
“I was sitting in front of a computer all the time, and I hated it,” he said. So, he left it behind and moved to rural France to study painting under Ted Seth Jacobs, the late master draftsman and Zen-influenced teacher. “There was no cell service, just a pay phone in the village,” Cusack recalled. “I was 28, 29 years old. I became very romantic about it. I learned French, taught my girlfriend to drive stick shift in the fields. It was a movie.”
That year changed everything. “Everything I teach here really comes from that time,” he said. “He (Ted Seth Jacobs) really showed me how to actually do things. Once it clicked, I was off and running.”
He now draws from his hybrid background in painting, publishing, and illustration and distills it into clear lessons for his students. At 53, Cusack says he’s enjoying a creative life he only once dreamed about.
His paintings have been shown at Mary MacGill in Germantown, Judy Black Memorial Park in Washington Depot, and Craven Contemporary in Kent. His work is in the permanent collections of the New York Transit Museum, the Museum of American Illustration, and the United States Air Force Art Collection. His name appears in the pages of “Architectural Digest,” “New England Home,” and “An Illustrated Life.”
Yet, it’s teaching that most feeds him. “Painting is a wonderful way to interact with the world,” he said, “and teaching — especially up here — connects me to the community. That’s the most important thing for me. I feel like I’m giving. I’m playing a role.”
Asked if he still meditates, Cusack said, “Every day… but even with meditation, I’m at the point where I’m letting go of the form. It’s like teaching,” he continued. “I use the form, but I’m more interested in what happens in the space. Then I follow that.”
Learn more about Peter Cusack’s workshops at petercusack.com
Wednesdays & Saturdays at the White Hart Inn
Thursdays at Scoville Memorial Library