Mandolin was a popular instrument at the start of the 20th century and mandolin orchestras were as prevalent as DJs are today. The Wisconsin/Vega Project is an outgrowth of America’s longest-running band of its kind, the Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra. “Vega” refers to Boston’s Vega Company, manufacturer of mandolins in the early decades of the last century and the album’s songs were chosen for having some connection with the Badger State. The opening number, “Hall’s Blue Ribbon March,” references a leading brewery in the city that meant beer. Some selections were based on arrangements used by local mandolin bands of an earlier era, and others were written by Milwaukee composers. Most of the music exudes the casual, Sunday afternoon-at-the-beer-garden elegance of a lost epoch. Nationally known mandolinist David Grisman guest stars on the 1909 tune “Dancing Dolls.”
