The International Bluegrass Music Association will be hosting a live, interactive panel discussion on Facebook March 5 about the lasting influence the late J.D. Crowe has had on the five string banjo and bluegrass music. This presentation begins at 3:00 p.m. (EST) and is offered free of charge, though donations will be encouraged with all proceeds going to the IBMA Trust Fund.
Getting together to talk about Crowe for this program, billed as IBMA 365: The Banjo Legacy of J.D. Crowe, will be three of the most prominent banjo pickers on the scene today, Ron Block, Bill Evans, and Ron Stewart. They will be talking about the massive impact Crowe has left on the music, while also demonstrating some of the tunes, licks, and techniques that have set his banjo playing on a pedestal.
Evans has made a name for himself both as a player and composer of banjo music, and an in-demand instructor noted for his ability to make crucial concepts of banjo playing clear to students of the instrument. Block is, of course, known for his many years as banjo and guitarist with Alison Krauss & Union Station, and for his own thoughtful commentary on bluegrass music. Stewart is perhaps the best exemplar and curator of the Crowe style alive today, who played fiddle in The New South for many years before J.D. retired. I have often said that Ron Stewart knows more about J.D. Crowe’s banjo playing than the man himself.
The program being hosted on Facebook Live will allow commenters to pose questions to the three hosts, who will be appearing by video from separate locations. It will be available for all to enjoy on March 5 at 3:00 on the IBMA Facebook page.
Donations to the IBMA Trust Fund are tax deductible, as the Fund is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit charitable institution. Its function is to provide financial assistance to those in the bluegrass industry for emergency needs. All distributions from the Trust Fund are made anonymously and many people have been helped in tough times by this organization since its founding in 1987.
