Author: John Lawless

The American Banjo Museum, located in Oklahoma City and dedicated to promoting and preserving banjo players and music of all kinds, has announced five new members to their Hall of Fame. They will be officially inducted during the weekend of October 9-11 as part of their annual Banjo Fest weekend in Oklahoma City.

Two of the new members will be well familiar to our readers, Noam Pikelny of Punch Brothers fame, who is going in for Five-String Performance, and Dom Flemons, noted multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and folklorist, who goes in for Promotion.

Also to be inducted in 2025 are 20th century four string virtuoso Fred Van Eps in the Historical category, Sean Moyses for Four-String Performance, and banjo builder Vinnie Mondello for Education & Innovation.

The Museum has provided the following thumbnail biographies of their newest Hall of Famers:

Noam Pikelny – Five-String Performance – Born in Skokie, Illinois in 1981, Pikelny began playing the banjo at the age of eight, studying at the Old Town School of Music. Best known for his current band, the Grammy award-winning Punch Brothers, Noam’s extraordinary talent and eclectic musical tastes found him performing in groups such as Leftover Salmon and the John Cowan Band, in addition to his own solo endeavors. Respected by a diverse musical community, Pikelny was named IBMA Banjo Player of the Year in 2014 and 2017 and, in 2010, was the first recipient of the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. Currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee, Pikelny and the Punch Brothers continue to excel in and expand the perceived boundaries of bluegrass, folk, and acoustic music.

Sean Moyses – Four-String Performance – From his first banjo ukulele strums as part of a family band to a present day one man show, Sean Moyses has devoted his life to music and the banjo. Inspired by Eddie Peabody, Moyses has taken a journeyman approach to a musical career, adapting his skill set as needed, and devoted enough to go where the work was. Whether performing as part of British and European jazz bands, lending his formidable stage presence to comedy shows, or taking listeners on a unique musical journey from ragtime to classics to pop, Sean pours his kind heart and impressive talent into every show he does. Admittedly born with an “old soul,” Moyses bridges the gap between the banjo’s glorious past and its modern-day identity.

Fred Van Eps – Historical – After learning to play the banjo by studying the recordings of Vess Ossman, Fred Van Eps went on to even greater popularity than his mentor. A fixture in the Edison studios in the early 1900s, he – as both a soloist and leader of different bands – made hundreds of audio recordings which documented the technical skill and musicianship which was required of banjoists during the instrument’s Classic Era of the late 1800s. Having been chosen to appear in early experimental sound films, as well as marketing the Van Eps Recording brand of banjos, is indicative of the artist’s popularity during the first three decades of the twentieth century.

Dom Flemons – Promotion – Dominique “Dom” Flemons is an American old-time, and blues multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. He is a proficient player of the banjo, fife, guitar, harmonica, percussion, quills, and rhythm bones. Known as The American Songster, Flemons’ repertoire of music spans nearly a century of American folklore, ballads, and tunes. A founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops from their inception in 2005 until 2013, Flemons played a key role in black culture’s recapturing of the banjo’s African heritage. In addition to performing and recording with numerous artists and bands including Mike Seeger, Taj Mahal, and the Old Crow Medicine Show, Flemons has released numerous albums under his own name, including Black Cowboys (which was nominated for a Grammy award in 2018).

Vinnie Mondello – Education & Innovation – With a family musical performance and instrument manufacturing lineage going back three generations, Vinnie Mondello seemed destined to become the “go to” banjo builder and repairperson of the current generation.  Utilizing mechanical skills and philosophy developed while working on high performance cars and boats, Mondello willed himself to learn the necessary skills and passion for maximizing a banjo’s tone, playability, and appearance. While the goal of his repair work is to match the original manufacturer’s fit and finish as closely as possible, the custom instruments crafted in his shop have set new and exacting standards in tone and décor. 

More details about Banjo Fest 2025 and the gala Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be announced in the near future.