I’ve been playing music with a buddy, a pretty skilled guitar player, for a few years now. I started on the mandolin around the time we began jamming, and I’d still consider myself the less technically proficient player. We’ve been working on a set of songs to the point where we’re considering playing some gigs this summer – think bars, coffee shops, open mic nights, nothing too serious. Personally, I’m not overly enthusiastic about performing, but I’m happy to go along with it.
Here’s the list of tunes we’ve got down solid so far:
- Old Joe Clark
- Arkansas Traveler
- Whiskey Before Breakfast
- Blackberry Blossom
- Eight More Miles to Louisville
- Church Street Blues
- Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar
- All The Good Times Are Past and Gone
- Last Train From Poor Valley
- The Old Home Place
- Hard Times
- L.A. Freeway
- Sing Me Back Home
- Wagon Wheel
- Wayfaring Stranger
- Coal Dust In My Soul
Besides mandolin, I also play guitar on some songs. I’ve become the de facto lead singer in our duo. While I can carry a tune and handle the vocals, I’m not a powerful vocalist, and it’s not really my favorite role (though I do genuinely enjoy singing a few of the songs we play).
We’re thinking about adding some more fiddle tunes to our repertoire, and I’d particularly like to incorporate some bluesier material. We’re trying to avoid the typical “two guys with guitars” clichés (so no Dylan, Dead, or Neil Young), but we’d love to include an Uncle Tupelo song, or maybe something from the early Son Volt albums, along with some more classic country songs.
Are there others out there who play in a Mandolin Guitar duo (or sometimes two guitar) setup? We’re really interested in hearing about your experiences, especially when it comes to song selection and expanding our repertoire beyond the usual bluegrass and folk standards. Any suggestions for tunes that work well in a mandolin guitar duo setting, particularly those with a blues or country flavor, would be greatly appreciated!
