“I can only remember it was November of 1979,” Marv Menzel says of Homestead Pickin’ Parlor’s opening day. “We didn't keep track of the date. We were in here, working on the facility, making the place comfortable for customers, and customers started walking in, so we accommodated them.”

Located in Richfield, Minnesota, and co-operated by Menzel and his wife, Dawn, Homestead Pickin’ Parlor has long been a destination for players and fans of folk, bluegrass, old-time, Celtic, and acoustic music. In its early days, Homestead drew the likes of Dakota Dave Hull and Peter Ostroushko. Today, musicians from such bands as Pert Near Sandstone and The High 48s pass through the doors.

“The Homestead Pickin' Parlor was my introduction to banjos and bluegrass and anything like that,” says The High 48s member Anthony Ihrig, who also works as a music instructor. “When I first came in [in 2000], Bruce [Johnson], who's still working here now, I remember him just saying, ‘Buy that CD, buy that CD. Get this book, get that book.’ … And I promptly went home and put those CDs on and opened those books, and it really got me started.”

Ellen Stanley, who performs under the moniker Mother Banjo, is another musician who traces her artistic origins to Homestead Pickin’ Parlor. “When I moved to Minneapolis after I graduated from college, I had been yearning to learn a stringed instrument,” she recalls, “and so I came down to Homestead Pickin' Parlor, and I bought a banjo, and shortly thereafter, started taking lessons with Russ Rayfield … I've been coming to Homestead ever since for various banjo needs.”

As evidence of her growth as an artist, Homestead Pickin’ Parlor now stocks Stanley’s Mother Banjo CDs.

For his part, Marv Menzel has seen trends shift and change over the years. “Folk music is not something you can predict,” he says. “You just have to stay tuned to it. For a long time, Minneapolis in particular was a hotbed of bluegrass banjo … Now everybody wants to play old-time banjo or clawhammer style. So all the young players are looking at clawhammer style.

“Minnesota is highly regarded as a hotbed of bluegrass, old time, [and] folk,” Menzel continues. “Many of the musicians travel nationally, so they're known all over the country. … Minnesota is well-known for its folk-music scene.”

And those within the folk-music scene have found a nurturing place inside the Menzels’ doors. “Here at the Homestead, people would just get together and play music and help each other out,” Ihrig says. “All the bands are friends. It wasn't a competition like it could be in other genres. … what I loved about that was the community.”

“I remember just bumping into people at the store,” Stanley says, “and I was like, ‘Oh, that's that musician,’ and ‘That's that musician.’ … It's been a real hub for me, and it continues to be so.”

Gallery: Homestead Pickin' Parlor

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External Links

Homestead Pickin’ Parlor – official site

Mother Banjo (Ellen Stanley) – official site

Anthony Ihrig – official site

The High 48s – official site