Abigail Washburn in China

Abigail Washburn spent November and December of 2011 in China, touring along the ancient Silk Road which once served as a trade route between China and the West. The tour was in the form of a cultural exchange, funded by the US Embassy and the Chinese International Center for Exchange. Performances were scheduled primarily in schools and universities, with some theater shows and spontaneous busking thrown in for good measure.

With her in China were Ross Holmes and Brittany Haas on fiddle, Jared Engel on bass, Jamie Dick on drums, and Kai Welch on guitar, keyboards, and trumpet). Abby was, of course, on banjo and vocals in this group billed as The Village. Also in tow were videographer Luke Mines and audio tech Cain Hogsed who produced a dozen videos of their travels in Cathay.

Here’s a look at their second stop on the tour, the town of Yinchuan, located in the Ningxia region of northwestern China.

 

You can watch all the videos online.

Washburn has also been selected to address the 2012 TED conference later this month in California. TED is an acronym for Technology, Entertainment Design. The annual conference sponsors addresses from “the world’s leading thinkers and doers.”

You can keep up with all of Abigail Washburn’s comings and goings on her official web site.

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About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.