The World Cup of Cigar Box Guitar

If necessity is the mother of invention, guitars made of cigar boxes are a testament to human creativity in the face of financial hardship. A simple cigar box, commonly found, serves as the resonator of the instrument, with a neck made of wood – often a broom handle – then strung with screen wire or fishing line to create a do-it-yourself guitar with a distinctive sound. 

Cigar boxes, hubcaps, Coke crates, and more were used to fashion improvised string instruments played during the three-day Cigar Box Guitar Festival in New Orleans in January. The festival was founded by Collins Kirby ten years ago. “My wife and I lived in New Orleans at the time,” said Collins. “We attended the cigar box guitar festival in Huntsville, Alabama – the first festival of its kind. We met Justin Johnside and John Pickle. We hired April May and the Junebugs to play in New Orleans in 2014, and we realized then that a festival was feasible in New Orleans.”

There are cigar box guitar festivals in California, St. Louis, and other places around the country, but the New Orleans festival has been called the “World Cup of Cigar Box Guitar.” 

Players and makers from around the globe gathered at the historic New Orleans Jazz Museum. The lineup was amazing, with musicians of many different genres playing in the intimate setting. “If you’re interested in total immersion in Americana, the New Orleans Cigar Box Guitar Festival is an elevating and enriching salute to our culture and heritage, and you can't leave without a smile on your face,” said documentary producer Dennis Baker.

It truly was a unique celebration of music, art, and the cultural history of homemade stringed instruments, appropriately held in New Orleans, a city where the early development of jazz and blues depended on them. 

From Affordable Substitute to Modern Musical Instruments

Cigar box guitars can be traced back to the mid-1800s. During hard financial times, the instruments provided entertainment when resources were scarce. The string count ranged from one string to six, and over time, the quality of the guitars improved. Elements from traditional guitar-making were incorporated, including hardwood guitar necks that used standard guitar strings, and pickups that allowed the tonal range to be broadened with simplification. 

Even with all that, the cigar box guitar has a distinctive sound that many musicians prefer. Because of its smaller size, it has a bright, midrange-focused tone. Beginners often prefer a three-stringed guitar that is tuned to an open chord. They can play full chords with a single finger, which encourages the rhythm and slide techniques commonly heard in roots and blues music.

Not Just for the Blues

The festival in New Orleans was heavy on the blues, but there were plenty of other genres there as well. And folks came from around the globe to perform, “We had acts from France, Holland, and Australia,” said Collins. Any improvised instrument was welcome. The same musical rules to build stringed instruments applied. “We had a guitar made from a hubcap, and a bass made from a Coke crate, plus plenty of guitars, and even a fiddle, made from cigar boxes.”

The New Orleans Cigar Box Guitar Festival kicked off Thursday night with bluegrass artist Hilary Klug. She is a fiddler and a dancer, a combination not often seen. Hilary was joined on stage by Canadian performer Meredith Moon. “I had a blast,” said Hilary, who entered a video where she played an instrument made by her neighbor. “I won second place in the video contest, and I was invited to perform at the festival.” 

The festival also included a builders' workshop and contest on Friday. Russ Wellington from St. Louis, Missouri, took first place. In second place was Huntsville, Alabama native Chuck Coan, and Steve Holladay from Holladay, Tennessee, placed third. 

Some of the instruments from the workshop were played at the Friday evening Hootenanny, 

This was a unique festival in that it not only featured musicians, but also the instruments they played. In the midst of blues and other genres, bluegrass music made a big splash. “I was proud to bring mountain music to sea level at the New Orleans Jazz Museum,” laughed Collins. “One of the keys to this festival’s success is that we feature so many different styles of music.” The festival operates on a tight budget, yet it has snowballed into one of the largest cigar box guitar festivals in the country.

“It's my desire to stimulate an interest in the homemade stringed instrument movement among old-time and bluegrass music enthusiasts and players like the one that exists in the blues and jazz communities,” said Collins. “A recognition of the history, and the adoption of homemade fiddles, banjos, basses, and guitars by current culture bearers to achieve an authentic sound. Hopefully, our performances will help kickstart that recognition and use.”

https://www.neworleanscbg.com/