I just got home about 45 minutes ago from the eighth annual gathering of the Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum. This started with about fifty people, and has mushroomed to about 200 people...and a couple thousand people in the middle of the town of Nazareth, PA.

We've been getting together to play guitars, sing, and admire and play other people's guitars we can't afford. It started as a Saturday-Sunday thing at the Nazareth Boro park, and now many arrive on Thursday to get a jump on all the fun. Martin Guitar Co. got involved, and now hosts us on Monday at the factory, which includes factory tours, a nice lunch, a bag of Martin swag, and a talk by CEO Chris Martin IV. They have been very generous with their support, and have actually changed some things about the way they manufacture their guitars because of suggestions from some guitar-expert UMGF members.

Last year, the town of Nazareth, Martin Guitars, and the Forum members (www.umgf.com) got together and created "Martin on Main Street" which was great fun...we had a stage with a sound system, and many talented performers from our membership played and also some hotshot Nashville pickers that showed up. There were craft booths, food, and people performing in the streets (they blocked off Main Street in Nazareth for a couple blocks) and it was a huge success.

This year, with more publicity, there were LOTS more booths and the streets were packed with people! Martin Guitars had a wonderful booth, as did several other luthiers. We (UMGF ) ran the main stage, and the music was amazing...and the stage was run on time! Kenny Sultan was there to give a workshop and concert, and he's a fantastic player. It was a great success, and everyone seemed to have a really good time.

Sunday, we were out at the Nazareth Boro park, with open mic performances, lots of visiting and fun. Kenny Sultan gave us a workshop that was really good...I think I finally understand what he was teaching. A special guitar showed up with Maury Mulheisen's sister Mary (he was the guitar player who played with Jim Croce, and was killed in the plane crash with Jim)...the Gibson Dove that Jim Croce used in his concerts and that he used to record his albums. She was generous, and allowed anyone who wanted to play it.

Evenings at the Comfort Inn were wild..we pretty much took over the Comfort Inn in Bethlehem. We'd booked most of the rooms, anyway. We'd gotten permission to use their lounge as a hangout-playing area, and also their conference room. People were singing and picking in the lobby, out on the covered sidewalk leading into the Comfy, and out back in front of lower level rooms. We had a malt whisky tasting area, many wines for people's enjoyment, there was lots of beer, snacks and stuff magically appeared, and people were playing and singing wherever there was space! Jamming until 3 or 4 am is not unusual; I was more conservative and was in bed by 12:30 most nights, with the exception of last night...I turned in at 3:30 am and the lounge still had a dozen people in it. I had a room close to the lobby, and with the security doors closed at night (between the hallway and the lobby) I didn't hear anything. That is amazing...there were twenty people playing and singing "Take it Easy" and other Eagles hits in the lobby.

This was my seventh year of attending this event, and it keeps getting better; we have people who come from England and Scotland, occasionally some from Italy and the Netherlands and all over this country to attend. It's wonderful to see everyone; over the past seven years, they've become really good friends. Sort of like here, but with more singing and guitar playing!

Thanks for your review Sue, sounds like a really amazing time. I never knew that such an organization or event existed. Does UMGF have a site? Your excellent description of the event made me and my old D-28 very happy to contemplate such a glorious gathering

Much thanks!!!

That sounds like fun. I had a Gianninni (Not sure if it's spelled correctly), an electric guitar, and Mike had an Epiphone (2 actually but he let one of his brothers borrow the older one). When he passed, my folks didn't have the room for them all, so I kept Mikes Epiphone & sadly let mine go. Martins are nice but much more than I can afford. I'm not that great a player either lol...