We just heard from Steve Martin, who shared this announcement about his annual banjo prize:
Last March, the board of The Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass lost a founding member, the great Earl Scruggs. After brief deliberation, we made a unanimous decision and asked J. D. Crowe to join our board. We are delighted and honored that he has accepted.
J. D. Crowe is a banjo and bluegrass legend, one of the most influential players and bandleaders since the 1960s. We are proud to have this world-class musician and respected figure in bluegrass as part of our board, which now consists of J. D. Crowe, Bela Fleck, Alison Brown, Neil V. Rosenberg, Tony Trischka, Pete Wernick, Anne Stringfield, and Steve Martin.
Two recipients of the prize have been awarded since it debuted: Noam Pikelny in 2010 and Sammy Shelor in 2011. Each received an honorarium of $50,000, and appeared with Martin on The Tonight Show with David Letterman.
