Glen Schmidt
- Type: People Who Play
- Website: http://www.kilkennyroad.com
"I have been playing traditional music for 25-30 years. I have gone to the Winfield Festival for all of that time, and it has been my inspiration. I started on guitar, then learned fiddle, later hammer dulcimer, and somewhere in there my kids started playing mandolin and fiddle with me. It was a happy moment for the family when my son, Scott Schmidt, won 3rd at Winfield (on mandolin) in 2001, and won first in 2002 at age 16. He took home a Weber Yellowstone both years, and our history with Weber began, with Scott later upgrading to two custom cedar top instruments, the very first Big Sky F varnish, and then a Bitterroot F Cedar top. (see Scott under his profile).
I enjoy many styles of music, but I really enjoy playing Irish music with my band, Kilkenny Road. I had only dabbled in mandolin, but when our fiddler had to bow out due to ill health, we needed to have a second lead to go with our flute lead. I borrowed Scott's Bitterroot and started messing with it to see if I could fill the gap. I was shocked at how quickly I was able to pick up the tunes for our band, and in just a few months, I was playing Irish tunes at light speed. I'm sure that having a very good mandolin had a lot to do with it. Somewhere along the way, we made a Son to Father deal, and I own it now. I love that mandolin!! It will never leave the family. My next purchase will surely be a Weber Octave mandolin.
Bruce and his staff are great to work with!!"