The Bushman brand was created in January, 1996 by John Hall. John’s love for the harmonica started when he was 5 years old and his grandpa gave him one. A music loving family made it easy to stick with the instrument allowing him to play it at church and family reunions. On a summer’s evening in 1990, he walked by the Slippery Noodle in Indianapolis and heard a harmonica player wailing the blues, and it was love at first sound! His ever growing love of music fueled his enthusiasm for the business, and led him to found the Bean Blossom Blues Fest in 1999. Hall ran the festival for 15 years which gave him the rich experience of working with the best harmonica players in the world. This experience shaped the destiny of Bushman Harmonicas – he learned what harmonica players wanted and needed out of their instruments.
The Soul’s Voice was the first Bushman harmonica. Launched In April 2000 the Soul’s Voice was a good quality harmonica made in Klingenthal, Germany and it helped put Bushman on the map as a trusted harmonica brand.
The Delta Frost came next. It was launched in August 2003 at the SPAH Harmonica Convention which was held in Dallas, TX that year. The Delta Frost met with immediate success right from the start. Constant improvements to the play-ability have made it a continuing success, and now players get 3 comb choices – plastic, wood and aluminum – and 2 tuning choices – Just or Equal – the Delta Frost has become the most versatile, easy to work-on and customize harmonica in the world.
In March of 2014 John sold the blues fest, and in September of 2017 he moved Bushman from Indianapolis, Indiana up to Marcellus, Michigan where he grew up. You’re invited to come visit Bushman Music Works which is located on the shore of Big Fish Lake. In fact, you can book a stay right on the property through AirBnB. You might be asked to help put together some Bushman harmonicas while you’re there, but other than that, it will be fun. LOL
