Rhiannon Giddens has been named the recipient of the 2016 Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. A North Carolina-based musician and co-founder of the Grammy Award-winning string band Carolina Chocolate Drops, Giddens, 39, is the first woman and the first African-American to win the prize in its seven-year history. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Bill Keith, a noted five-string banjoist who introduced a melodic style of playing the instrument and designed a specialized type of tuning peg that bears his name, died Oct. 23 at age 75. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Danny Barnes, a claw hammer and three-finger-style banjo player from Texas, has been named the recipient of the 2015 Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. To continue reading this article, click on the headline.
“The Banjo: Southern Roots, American Branches” will be explored during s series of free lectures and panel discussions presented by The Southern Folklife Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012. The symposium, extending from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will be followed in the evening with a 7:30 p.m. concert showcasing the banjo at the campus’ Memorial Hall featuring Tony Trischka, Riley Baugus with Kirk Sutphin, and Don Flemons of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]
Earl Scruggs, a celebrated and highly influential banjo player, whose innovative three-fingered picking style helped to popularize the instrument, has joined that great bluegrass jam in the sky. Scruggs, who was a large presence in both the folk and country music worlds and was honored by both, died of natural causes on March 28 at a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. He was 88. [To read the obituary in its entirety, click on the headline.]
Give Me The Banjo, a documentary chronicling 300 years of American history and popular culture through the country’s quintessential musical instrument – from its earliest use by enslaved Africans in colonial times to the 21st century – premieres Friday, Nov. 4, at 9 p.m. ET on PBS television stations(check your local listings). [To read the full article, click on the headline.]
A one-of-a-kind Deering banjo that has been signed and played by Pete Seeger will be auctioned off this month to benefit the Emergency Relief Fund of American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 1000, the traveling musicians union. [To read the article, click on the headline.]
In less than two years' time, Kelleigh McKenzie has made quite a mark in acoustic music circles. A talented singer-songwriter who alternately accompanies herself on banjo, guitar and amplified stompbox, McKenzie has appeared on "Mountain Stage" and the "WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour," was a co-winner in the 2008 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest, secured a coveted formal showcase slot at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference, and was selected to participate in emerging artists showcases at both the Falcon Ridge and Grey Fox festivals. Her debut album, Chances, was on the Americana Music Chart for six months, while "Gin," one of the tracks on it, won an Independent Music Award for Best Americana Song. Kathy Sands-Boehmer recently posed a few questions to Kelleigh. [To read Kathy's Q & A with Kelleigh McKenzie, click on the headline.]
