Howard Armstrong, the last guardian of a vanishing African-American tradition of string-band music, died on Wednesday in Boston, where he lived.

The program lined up finger-picking string-band music alongside the blues.

Another controversy at Guca began with folk purists, who preferred string-band music.

People danced to "hot hillbilly music" or "hot string-band music".

Anthony's vigorous dance playing gives us a rare view of the black string-band music that was almost obliterated by the craze for recording blues guitarists.

The festival is to close Feb. 12, with a concert by some of the last surviving exponents of black string-band music.

Which might be a shorthand definition for old-time, string-band music, whether you're talking about the original explosion in the 1920s or today's aftershock.

When Mr. Eggleston, a classically trained cellist, fell in love with string-band music, he created a place in it for his instrument where none had existed.

Howard Armstrong, a Tennessee-born fiddler who is 79 years old, started out playing string-band music with his three younger brothers.

The series opens Saturday with an evening of string-band music, barrel-house piano, tap dance and Piedmont blues with John Cephas and Phil Wiggins.