The Richter Mandolin Camp for the Rest of Us is excited to announce that Matt Flinner is joining as replacement faculty for the Sharon Gilchrist at the 2025 camp. Matt is a multi-instrumentalist who has made a career out of playing acoustic music in new ways. Starting out as a banjo prodigy who was playing bluegrass festivals before he entered his teens, Flinner later took up the mandolin, won the National Banjo Contest at Winfield Kansas in 1990, and took the mandolin award there the following year. Since then, he has become recognized as one of the premiere mandolinists as well as one of the finest new acoustic/roots music composers today. He has toured and recorded with a wide variety of bluegrass, new acoustic, classical and jazz artists, including Tim O’Brien, Frank Vignola, Steve Martin, Darrell Scott, the Modern Mandolin Quartet, Dave Douglas, Leftover Salmon, Alison Brown, The Ying Quartet, Tony Trischka, Darol Anger, and the Nashville Chamber Orchestra. He has also recorded two Compass Records CDs and toured as part of Phillips, Grier and Flinner with bassist Todd Phillips and guitarist David Grier. His two solo CDs (also on Compass), “The View from Here” and “Latitude,” are now widely considered classics in the new acoustic/modern bluegrass style. His current group, the Matt Flinner Trio (with guitarist Ross Martin and bassist Eric Thorin), has forged new pathways in acoustic string band music with their two ground-breaking CDs, “Music du Jour” and “Winter Harvest” (coming soon!). For more information about the Matt Flinner Trio and their “Music du Jour” tours, visit the Trio page. And for more information about the Modern Mandolin Quartet, visit their website.

“A Night of Mandolin Music: Jim Richter Mandolin Camp Faculty Concert” celebrates mandolin music across its spectrum—orchestral, folk, jazz, bluegrass, rock, and blues. The Jim Richter Mandolin Camp for the Rest of Us is in its 12th year and has been a center of mandolin instruction based in Bloomington, Indiana since 2011. This concert features camp faculty: Don Julin (Billy Strings; writer of Mandolins for Dummies), Matt Flinner (Matt Flinner Trio, Phillips, Flinner, and Grier, Leftover Salmon, Sam Grisman), Laurelyn Dossett (Rhiannon Giddens; Levon Helm), and Jim Richter (blues/rock mandolin educator; Gordon Bonham). Joining as special guests are Gordon Bonham, the Banister Bluegrass Band, the Columbus Mandolin Orchestra, and others. This free event is sponsored by the Jim Richter Mandolin Camp, WFHB radio, the Grant Street Inn, and Kimble Mandolins. More about the camp and its faculty can be found at www.richtermandolincamp.com.

This year’s 12th Richter Mandolin Camp Faculty Concert will be held at Buskirk-Chumley Theater in Bloomington IN on Friday 7/11/2025 from 7 to 10P. It will be free to the public with priority seating for camp attendees and their guests.

Performing will be

• Jim Richter
• Sharon Gilchrist
• Don Julin
• Laurelyn Dossett
• Columbus Mandolin Orchestra
• Gordon Bonham
• Banister Bluegrass Band
• Will Kimble
• and more!

Seating is not reserved, other than for camp attendees. Door will open at 6:30P. No ticket required.

The concert is sponsored by the Richter Mandolin Camp, Grant Street Inn, Kimble Mandolins, and WFHB in Bloomington, Indiana.

The 2025 Richter Mandolin Camp for the Rest of Us has opened registration. This year instructors are Jim Richter, Don Julin, Lauren Price Napier, and Laurelyn Dossett. More information can be found at the 2025 Camp Info page: https://richtermandolincamp.com/2025-richter-mandolin-camp-12th-annual/

Sorry because it sounds so cliche, but 2023 Richter Mandolin Camp for the Rest of Us was magical. Yes, I said it, magical. We had a tight-knit supportive community of mandolinists who encouraged each other in a way that produced moments of joy, poignancy, and sublimation. From classroom work to student recital, this cohort of students was incomparable.

And, speaking of incomparable, having Mike Compton, Don Julin, and Laurelyn Dossett on staff was nothing short of remarkable. Don has been my compadre going back to 2012. His voice is very much in the fabric of this camp. But so is Mike’s, as Mike is really the only person I could site as a mandolin mentor–someone who I actively sought out to learn more about this wonderful 8-string instrument. And the breakout star was Laurelyn. Campers were very appreciative of having a break from the male mandolin know-it-all instruction to have time with her for harmony vocalizing and songwriting. Plus her performance of Zeppelin’s “Rain Song” at the concert left individuals speechless.

The concert. Wow. From the Banister Family Bluegrass Band (Roger Banister, Denise Kocur, Daryl Jones, and yours truly), to Laurelyn, Mike, Don, and Gordon Bonham, we covered a wide array of mandolin music in a little under 2 and 1/2 hours.

So where are we for 2024? The 11th Annual Richter Mandolin Camp for the Rest of Us will be Wednesday July 10th through Saturday July 13th, 2024 in Bloomington Indiana. You can learn more at the information page. Registration is live.

Tickets are now available in the Shop for the faculty concert to be held Friday 7/14/2023. More information here on the Concert page.

After 15 years I revisited one of my favorite Zeppelin tunes and one of my earliest Zeppelin YouTube videos (my first I believe). Ten Years Gone is a beautifully composed and harmonically complicated Jimmy Page piece on Physical Graffiti. At the time I did my YouTube video, I was still figuring things out both in terms of arrangement and transcription. I was discovering new sounds and trying to marry my blues technique and my love Mike Compton’s playing into an approach that was truthful, authentic, reflective of the original source material, and easily accessible (as I’m not the most complicated player). In terms of transcription, I hated Tabledit and was so happy when I moved to Progression and then Notion.

With the development of this new site (the 4th iteration of the jimrichter.com website in 20 years), I’m going back through old Tabledit transcriptions and updating. As I started working on Ten Years Gone, I knew it needed some work overall. I have now rearranged it, have it closer to the original (though mando-centric), and have included the accompanying guitar tab (not exact, but meant to serve as a practice track). I’ll be doing this with some other older arrangements. This is one I’ll make available to all, as it really is a testament to serious adaptation of rock guitar to mandolin.

Typically such arrangement/transcription would only be available to Tab Members or those who receive instruction from me. But, I think it’s important for people to expand their ears and consideration of rock on the mandolin. This is not a Pickin’ On Zeppelin version, an early “Great Balls of Fire” NGR style, or high octane Billy Strings. I love all those I mentioned, but those are much more bluegrass-based than rock-oriented. This is truly trying to envision how Ten Years Gone would have been played by Page had he written it for the mandolin. For those who are interested in other such arrangements, please consider becoming a Tab Member. 

At Mandolin Camp North and Richter Camp, I’ll be teaching how to play this and other Led Zeppelin and classic rock tunes.

Below you have PDFs for mandolin only and mandolin w/ guitar (I arranged the guitar to capture the main guitar theme, but also realize that it is layered throughout), as well as Notion files for both mandolin only and mandolin w/ guitar.

Notion for mandolin only; Notion for mandolin and guitar; mandolin only PDF; mandolin and guitar PDF

The 2023 Richter Camp for the Rest of Us is excited to announce that Laurelyn Dossett has been added as an associate instructor. Laurelyn (https://www.laurelyndossett.com/) is a brilliant singer/songwriter from North Carolina whose original material has been recorded by Levon Helm and Rhiannon Giddens. Laurelyn will be available for singing/songwriting help before and after mandolin classes. She’ll also help with with evening jams, the student recital, and will perform at the faculty concert. Laurelyn has taught songwriting and singing at the Augusta Heritage Center and the Monroe Mandolin Camp, as well as at many universities, workshops and festivals. She is the recipient of the Betty Cone Medal of Arts, the North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship for songwriting, the Chris Austin songwriting contest at Merlefest, and has been a fellow at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. You can learn more about her on the Instructor Bios Page.

Due to high demand, the 10th Annual Richter Mandolin Camp for the Rest of Us featuring Don Julin and Mike Compton is near capacity! We’re so excited that the mandolin community is excited by this celebration of alternative mandolin. If you’re interested in attending camp, please email Jim at JIM@JIMRICHTER.COM to confirm availability. Jim will start a waitlist when capacity has been reached.