Cigar - Box - Guitar - Makers

Tall City Bluesfest marked its fourth year in Midland in late July. One of the reasons for its longevity are the workshops it offers. For KXWT News, Lana Straub visited with some young aficionados of the blues. Cigar Box guitars are what blues players refer to as “primitive instruments.” And they’ve been around since the Civil War. In late July Cigar Box Maker and blues musician Matt Isbell showed Midlanders just how easy it was to make a cigar box yourself. Isbell, a Memphis, Tennessee native, says he got his desire to work with his hands from his mother. She was an artist and made crafts out of just about anything. To keep him busy, his mother had him tinkering with projects at a very early age.