
Bennett Teaching Guitar from Music Camp in 2023
Brookline, Massachusetts
Mandolin Camp North
April 25– 27, 2025
Charlton, MA https://musiccampsnorth.com/
Prindle Pond Conference Center, Charlton, MA (near Sturbridge)
Lorraine teaches the beginning/refresher track Old Time Five String Banjo this time. Come for a solid grounding in the traditional fretting style and, if there is time and interest, some 2-finger old-time picking. As at Mandolin Camp, these classes offer great support for folks who have primarily worked in online isolation.
Bennett has a homemade and distinctive “Rock-a-Folky” banjo style, and camp offers a great setting for his encouraging and supportive teaching.
More Summer Events!
This summer we celebrate the 30th anniversary of WUMB/UMass Boston’s
SUMMER ACOUSTIC MUSIC WEEK (SAMW) https://samw.wumb.org/camps/
Geneva Point Center, Center Harbor, New Hampshire
SAMW Week 1, July 13 – 19, 2025
SAMW Week 2, August 17 – 23, 2025
The July week has only a few open spaces remaining. August week is fully booked accepting names for the waiting lists.
Collegium Dates June 29-July 5, 20
Bennett and Lorraine’s Amazing Amtrak Adventure
We traveled round trip from Boston to San Francisco (Emeryville, CA). Yowza! Sleeper cars are snug, but we loved seeing the country. In California we played for friends and had a great time at their wedding in Sonoma (well we missed the first day of wedding fun since the train was four hours late arriving at Emeryville, but we made up for it when we finally arrived!). Here is the link to a little video that our new friend Oscar and his father Paul made of the westbound California Zephyr that was part of our shared journey:

Here we are with Oscar, a very fine human being, and a fine singer too!
Oscar Explains Trains:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUz9CbkB49U
When the Zephyr came to a halt on the single track in the Colorado Rockies, with the Colorado River on one side and sheer cliff on the other, the conductor said the delay might be for many, many hours as we waited for a damaged freight train to be removed from the tracks ahead. Then he asked if anyone on board had a guitar! Bennett’s Facebook posts on his homepage make great reading about our trek.
Here we are with Oscar, a very fine human being, and a fine singer too!

Some Sonoma sunshine

Grandson Arthur and his folks

Lorraine in Berkeley

Bennett in Berkeley
#SongsofComfort Music helps, and we continue to find real comfort in playing together at home, and will continue to share that music with you. This set includes
- “Bunch of Rushes”, traditional
- My song honoring the late Rev. Walter Donald Kring: “Celadon Song”, © 1997, Lorraine Lee Hammond, Snowy Egret Music, BMI
- The Turlough O’Carolan tune, “Planxty Fanny Poer”
Bunch of Rushes Set, Lorraine and Bennett Hammond #Songsofcomfort