A Trip to Lafayette to see SoLa and Anya Burgess

The John Salyer fiddle probably isn't worth a lot of money, but it is a valuable part of the history of old-time music, so I decided it's restoration should have extra special care.  I reached out to the Old-Time Fiddlers group on Facebook and got lots of suggestions.  Suzy Thompson suggested Anya Burgess at SoLa in Lafayette, and Suzy said, "Good excuse to have a trip to Lafayette".  The more I researched Anya, the more I became convinced she was the best choice.  I learned that Anya after growing up just outside Boston, Massachusetts, completed a violin-making program at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.  She then worked with a luthier in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.  After talking to Anya on the phone, I knew a trip to Lafayette was in our future.

In Lafayette I was expecting a dusty backyard violin repair shop but instead found the beautiful storefront on SoLa in downtown Lafayette.  Anya opened up the fiddle and let me look inside and it seems that was the first time the inside of that fiddle had seen the light of day in a long time!  Anya was also great about sending photos of the progress of the fiddle restoration.

Sharon in front of SoLa.
Anya at her workbench.
John Salyer's fiddle unrestored.
Seeing the light of day after many years.


A small crack was found.





Location: 100 E Vermilion St #102, Lafayette, LA 70501, USA

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