Ben Wright, banjo player with Chicago’s Henhouse Prowlers, has launched a new monthly podcast called Bluegrass Ambassadors, in support of the band’s non-profit agency of the same name.
In recent years, the Prowlers have made many trips overseas for the US State Department, using bluegrass as a way to bridge cultural gaps with people across the world. Many of their tours have been in western Africa and the middle east, and Ben has shared many stories with us about the friendships they have made with native artists along the way.
And that is the topic of the new podcast; introducing some of these folks to their American audience. The purpose of their non-profit organization is to continue these cross-cultural exchanges in other areas.
Ben’s first podcast is a discussion with Vijit Malik, an Indian acoustic musician living in Dubai. The band met Vijit when they were performing there at the US Embassy, and were startled when he started throwing out requests for bluegrass standards from the audience.
They discuss Malik’s musical journey, his time studying in the United States, and his adventures playing western acoustic music in the middle east. Wright also includes several examples of Vijit’s music.
This initial episode of the Bluegrass Ambassadors podcast is titled Vijit Malik: Bringing Doc Watson to Dubai. It runs for 45 minutes.
You can subscribe to the podcast through many popular sites, like iTunes, Soundcloud, TuneIn and Google Play.
