Aa a part of the Folk Marathon airing this week on the University of Virginia’s WTJU during its 2025 fundraising drive, Bill Evans will be hosting a two-hour program this afternoon where he will play live recordings made at Charlottesville’s C&O Restaurant during the 1980s.
Way back in the previous century, when Bill was a recent graduate of UVA, he sponsored a concert series at C&O, and will be sharing board tapes from these shows from 4:00-6:00 p.m. today. Included will be music from Larry Sparks & the Lonesome Ramblers (featuring a young Stuart Duncan), Tony Trischka & Skyline, Country Gazette, Hot Rize, Cloud Valley, Peter Rowan (solo and with Cloud Valley), and J. D. Crowe & the New South.
Those of us who remember the ’80s can enjoy reliving the music of those days, hearing some of our beloved artists when they were 40 years younger, and newer bluegrass lovers can get a taste of how it was back then. Hint… it was really good.
WTJU broadcasts in central Virginia at 91.1 FM, and can be heard worldwide online from their web site.
If you miss it live, the program will be archived for two weeks at the WTJU site. After that, its gone.
Southwest Bluegrass All-Stars are a relatively new group from a part of the country which produces relatively few bands in the genre. But this quartet consists of some of the top pickers and singers in the region, and they have produced a debut EP with the perfectly appropriate title, IntroducingThe Southwest Bluegrass All-Stars.
The opening track is one written by guitarist Elliott Rogers, a well-known Texas songwriter from ’round about Austin, which he calls Bluegrass Trucker. It tells the story of a driver with an overloaded rig, hoping he can deliver the shipment in one piece before his tires give way.
Support comes from his fellow All-Stars: Steve Smith, a mandolin man from New Mexico; banjoist Bill Evans, who was also living in New Mexico when the group was formed; and Anne Luna, bass player and fellow Land of Enchantment stater.
Throughout the song these’s a repeated instrumental signature with a chugging sound, like a truck trying to make a hill, which gets a full treatment just ahead of the final chorus.
Have a listen…
Bluegrass Trucker, and the full Introducing The SW Bluegrass All-Stars album, are available from popular download and streaming services online. Radio programmers are invited to contact Bill Evans online to obtain an airplay copy.
Scheduled for March 7-8, 2025, the Experience will feature two days of instruction in the banjo playing and music of the one-and-only Earl Scruggs, taught by Tony Trischka, Kristin Scott Benson, and Bill Evans. Fellow banjoist and folklorist Bob Carlin will also be on hand to discuss the many regional musical styles that would have influenced a young Earl Scruggs growing up and learning to play.
Registration for the Camp not only gets you all the classes and printed materials, each student also receives a membership to the Earl Scruggs Center with its Museum dedicated to Earl’s life and legacy. Students will have access to the many exhibits while the Experience is underway, and will also receive a Camp T-shirt, along with a light breakfast, coffee, and snacks during sessions.
Bill Evans shared a few words about the Earl Experience Banjo Camp.
“This is going to be so much more than your typical banjo workshop weekend. The Earl Scruggs Center is the best place in the world to experience an event where you’ll gain a greater understanding of Earl’s banjo style and musical influence, from sessions presented by some of the best teachers in the world who are passionate about Earl’s impact on their music. We’re offering a great weekend that any Scruggs-style banjo fan will cherish forever.”
The registration fee is $500 through the end of this year, and $575 starting January 1. Accommodations are not included, but downtown Shelby has a number of places to stay, and the number of registrations is limited.
Executive Director of the Earl Scruggs Center, Mary Beth Martin, says this is something the Center has wanted to do for some time.
“We are thrilled to offer our first-ever banjo camp and welcome players from all over the country to our community. This camp is a rare opportunity for musicians to learn directly from master players in the very place where Earl Scruggs began his journey, and to experience the legacy that continues to inspire us.”
Full details and a registration form can be found online.
The American Banjo Museum in Oklahoma City has announced five new members of their Banjo Hall of Fame, to be inducted during the ABM Banjo Fest in October of 2024.
The ABM launched in 1998 in nearby Guthrie, OK as a museum dedicated to the four string banjo, with a Hall of Fame drawing from the great jazz age tenor players. In 2013, they embraced the world of five string banjo as well, and the many styles of music it is used to play, along with similar Hall of Fame categories.
Each year they select one new member in each of the following categories:
Five string performance
Four string performance
Historical
Promotion
Instruction & Education
Topping the 2024 list is the great Ralph Stanley, to be inducted in the Historial category, created to allow the ABM to bring in deceased members not yet in the Hall. Also coming in are Kristin Scott Benson for Five String Performance, Ned Luberecki for Promotion, and Bill Evans for Instruction & Education. Ken Aoki was chosen for Four String Performance.
A gala Hall of Fame Celebration is the highlight of the annual Banjo Fest, where living inductees speak and/or perform for fans and supporters of the Museum.
With today’s announcement, the ABM shared these thumbnail biographies of the five newest members of the ABM Hall of fame.
Kristin Scott Benson Five-String Performance – A five-time International Bluegrass Music Association Banjo Player of the Year and recipient of the 2018 Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass, Benson is widely recognized as the first woman to take a place as a sideman in a top-tier bluegrass band. Since 2008 her association with the Grammy-nominated group, The Grascals, Kristin has exhibited impeccable taste, timing, and tone on stage, in the studio, and as part of national media appearances, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Fox & Friends, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and CBS’ The Talk, among others. The band has also performed for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, as well as accumulating nearly 200 performances on the Grand Ole Opry.
Ken Aoki Four-String Performance – From his earliest musical aspirations, Japan’s Ken Aoki held a passion for the banjo and its place in American pop culture during the 1920s and ’30s. Although (or perhaps because) he was removed from the direct influence of a similar generation of younger American banjoists during the 1980s and ’90s, Ken was forced to work on his own, developing both amazing technical skill as well as world-class musicianship on the plectrum and tenor banjos, as well as the guitar. With an immense repertoire ranging from difficult Harry Reser solos and other banjo standards to jazz, classics, Broadway and pop, Ken Aoki stands out as an amazing international banjo phenomenon.
Dr. Ralph Stanley Historical – Despite little musical influence as a child, legendary bluegrass artist, Ralph Stanley, was internationally known for his unique, innovative style of singing and banjo playing. Born and raised in Virginia, his mother bought his first banjo and began teaching him how to play “clawhammer” style when he was 15. Stanley’s musical career didn’t kick into full swing until after he returned from a stint in the US Army in 1945 when he joined his guitar-playing older brother, Carter Stanley, and started a band called Clinch Mountain Boys. The duo caught the eye of a Columbia Records executive who signed them on as the Stanley Brothers. The duo continued to perform until 1966 when Ralph’s brother passed away. As a soloist, Stanley’s career prospered. He was inducted into the International Music Hall of Honor in 1992, and the Grand Ole Opry in 2000, the same year in which his work was featured in the film, O Brother, Where Art Thou – for which he won a 2002 Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.
Ned Luberecki Promotion – A multi-facetted banjo force, Ned Luberecki divides his time between performance, instruction, and banjo promotion – all for the betterment of the worldwide banjo community. The 2018 IBMA Banjo Player of the Year, Ned currently performs with Becky Buller and tours as Nedski and Mojo (with Stephen Mougin of the Sam Bush Band). As an instructor, in addition to offering private lessons – both in person and via the internet, Luberecki is a mainstay at major banjo camps around the world. However, his most widespread impact just may be his weekly hosting of the SirusXM radio program Bluegrass Junction.
Bill Evans Instruction & Education – San Francisco based composer, educator, performer and author, Bill Evans holds the distinction of skillfully playing every type of banjo – from its earliest roots in the West African akonting to the modern Bluegrass banjo. Holding a master’s degree in music from the University of California at Berkeley, Evans educates and enlightens thousands of people annually with his Banjo In America concert program, in which he plays multiple banjos while presenting musical examples from the 17th century, through the minstrel, classic and jazz eras to the banjo’s modern day voice in bluegrass, folk and world music. Additionally, Evans hosts the annual Nashcamp Bluegrass camp which brings top professional performers together with aspiring banjo students.
Congratulations to all of this year’s inductees! We will have coverage of the Banjo Fest later this year, and hopefully an interview with American Banjo Museum Director Johnny Baier next week.
Great news for banjo players and lovers on the east coast!
Two fine practitioners of the five string banjo, Bill Evans and Alan Munde, will be embarking on a two-week tour throughout the central and southeastern US. Hitting ten cities, the two will offer live stage performances together, demonstrating the versatility of the instrument in a variety of styles, along with instructional workshops at several of their stops.
Things get started on January 26 in Greensboro, NC, and finish on February 10 in Floyd, VA. Other shows/workshops are scheduled in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Delaware, and Maryland.
Evans has been involved in bluegrass and banjo professionally since he was in college, performing with groups like Cloud Valley and Dry Branch Fire Squad before turning his attention to a solo career as a performer, instructor, and recording artist. Among the most consistently sought-after teachers at camps and workshops world wide, Bill is also on the faculty at Peghead Nation, and created a number of popular DVDs for AcuTab Publications in the early aughts. He is a 2022 recipient of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize.
Not many banjo players alive have received the level of acclaim that has been awarded to Alan Munde. Like Evans, he is a recipient of the Martin Prize, and got his professional start as a member of Jimmy Martin’s Sunny Mountain Boys. Along his lengthy career, Alan performed with Sam Bush in Poor Richard’s Almanac, and on a pair of duet albums, before becoming a member of Country Gazette while living in California. Munde remained with the Gazette until he retired a couple of years ago, after having recorded dozens of albums with the band, and on his own. He was inducted into the American Banjo Museum Hall of Fame in 2022.
This is a unique opportunity to see one of these tours on the east coast, as Bill used to primarily offer such events out west when he lived in California. Now returned to his home state of Virginia, folks back east can enjoy these entertaining and enlightening programs close to home.
Dates on the tour include:
January 26 – Greensboro, NC; concert only
January 27 – Bloomingdale, GA; concert and workshop
January 31 – Johnson City, TN; concert only
February 2 – Newark, DE; concert only
February 3 – Philadelphia, PA; concert and workshop
February 4 – Falls Church, VA; concert and workshop
February 5 – Baltimore, MD; concert only
February 7 – Charlottesville, VA; concert only
February 8 – Waynesboro, VA; workshop
February 9 – Raleigh, NC; concert and workshop
February 10 – Floyd, VA; concert only
Further details, including times, locations, and ticket information, can be found online.
Most people who have followed the work of banjo performer and instructor Bill Evans think of him as a west coast guy. That makes sense, as he has lived most of his adult life in the Bay Area of California.
But, in fact, Bill was raised in coastal Virginia, leaving from there to study at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, before he ever made the trek out west. He also lived for a while in Owensboro, KY while working at the Bluegrass Museum during its early days.
Now he has returned to his Virginia roots, with his wife and fellow banjo picker, Babi, living in a rural community near Waynesboro. Evans continues to offer private banjo lessons, both in person and online, and is in constant demand as an instructor for banjo camps and workshops all over the US.
Bill will also continue to offer one of his most popular offerings each year, his Banjo Essentials workshop, taught alongside Ron Block and Kristin Scott Benson. The 2023 edition of the online class is scheduled for December 10 from 1:00-6:00 p.m. (EST) on Zoom.
Banjo players have long admired Ron Block for his work as a member of Alison Krauss & Union Station, on his multiple solo projects, and with his own instructional materials. Kristin Scott Benson, a four time IBMA Banjo Player of the Year honoree, has earned her stripes with The Grascals, and before that with Larry Stephenson.
This afternoon of workshops is designed for all levels of players. All sessions will be recorded for later viewing and study for years to come via a YouTube link available only to participating students. All handouts will be distributed before the workshop session and will be permanently available for download after the session via a private Google docs folder.
The workshop brings together three of the world’s best players and teachers of bluegrass banjo for an afternoon of Banjo Essentials, designed to help players of all levels to develop a great sound, play with relaxation, develop your ear, and organize your practice time to keep growing and moving forward as a banjo player.
Each of three instructors will tackle portions of the five hour workshop.
Kristin Scott Benson: Right- and Left-Hand Essentials – the Secrets to Sounding Great
Ron Block: Developing Focused & Effective Practice Techniques
Bill Evans: Integrating Creative Listening and Ear Training Into Daily Practice
The fee to attend the workshop on Zoom December 10 is $85, which entitles a student to view the Zoom session live, and keep a copy of the full video and the various handouts in perpetuity. Payment can be made via Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, credit card, or check.
More details about what will be covered in the Banjo Essentials workshop, and details about payment, can be found online.
Bill Evans — he of banjo and bluegrass fame as opposed to the jazz musician of the same name — spent the last three years working with an array of notable collaborators in order to deliver Things Are Simple, this mostly instrumental offering. As a result, Evans — who happens to be the most recent winner of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize — is clearly in good company. Instrumental support comes courtesy of Chad Manning and Darol Anger providing support on fiddles, John Reischman contributing mandolin, Jim Nunally playing guitar, and bassist Sharon Gilchrist locking in the rhythm that underscore it all.
The result is a series of mostly rousing and robust offerings, with songs such as Sierra Blanco, Along Came Sonny, Gertie & Jake, and the traditional standard, Chinquapin Hunting, all performed with a full frenzy. On the other hand, there’s another side to the proceedings as well, courtesy of various selections that are, by contrast, decidedly subdued. Black Range Waltz, for example, allows for what’s best described as a soothing serenade. True He’s Gone comes across like a solemn lament, while Midnight at Rosine combines fiddle with the pluck of strings, providing some meditative musings and a more tender tone that’s infused in the album overall.
Still, it’s the title track itself that brings true messaging to the music. It marks Evans’ vocal debut as part of a duet sung with his wife, Babi. A subdued yet spiritual offering, it’s well in keeping with the calming theme the name implies. Indeed, in a turbulent and topsy-turvy world, the words are well worth remembering. Likewise, as one of two vocal tracks that feature prominently on the album, it underscores a certain spiritual sensibility as well.
In that regard, Things Are Simpleserves as a reminder that, despite even the most tedious and tiresome set of circumstances faced on a daily basis, there are other alternatives when it comes to achieving a contented state of mind. Credit Evans with providing some creative counseling.
West coast banjo icon Bill Evans, and his wife, Babi, are not only collaborators in the ways of romance, they are also a pair of banjo pickers who share a simple life together in New Mexico.
They have created a video especially for Valentines Day and the title track of Bill’s new album, Things Are Simple. Evans describes the record as an autobiographical effort, with a mix of songs and tunes, that detail the lives of Bill and his family over the past few years.
This title song is one that Bill and Babi wrote for their wedding, which they sing accompanied by Bill’s guitar and a string quartet arranged by Alisa Rose.
For the video, Bill asked his many friends in the banjo and bluegrass community to share photos of themselves with their special someone. See how many you recognize.
The prize was initiated by the banjo playing actor/comedian in 2010, named at the time as The Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass Music. That first award went to Noam Pikelny, who appeared on television with Martin as part of the prize. Martin awarded the prize at the start from his own private funds, and gave away a $50,000 cash grant each year through 2020.
Other recipients have included Sammy Shelor, Scott Vestal, Danny Barnes, Jens Kruger, Kristin Scott Benson, Victor Furtado, Matthew Davis, B.B. Bowness, Alan Munde, and several others.
Evans was named as prize winner for 2022, along with Enda Scahill, tenor banjoist with Ireland’s We Banjo 3. Of late he has been performing with California Bluegrass Reunion, a west coast group of bluegrass all stars, along with Darol Anger on fiddle, John Reischman on mandolin, Jim Nunally on guitar, Chad Manning on fiddle, and Sharon Gilchrist on bass.
He has also spent a long career as a banjo instructor, teaching at workshops all over the world, producing instructional materials for AcuTab Publications, Homespun Tapes, The Murphy Method, and Mel Bay Publications, and is currently teaching at Peghead Nation online. Bill is also the author of Banjo For Dummies and Bluegrass Banjo For Dummies.
The bluegrass world first saw Bill with the early progressive bluegrass band, Cloud Valley, which also included Missy Raines on bass, Steve Smith on mandolin, and Charlie Ranke on guitar. Evans took a hard turn from there, joining up with Dry Branch Fire Squad, and toured with them for several years.
Along the way he also pursued an academic career, teaching at a number of universities in ethnomusicology, and tried his hand at museum curation at the Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, KY for a time before moving to California. Now living in New Mexico, Bill continues to teach both in person and online, and directs music camps of his own.
Perhaps Evans’ most lingering contribution to banjo education is his long running concert offering, The Banjo In America, where Bill performs banjo music from the 19th and early 20th century on a number of antique and period correct instruments. This show has become so popular that a live CD/DVD set has been produced for sale.
I would like to insert a personal comment here, as Bill Evans is my oldest banjo buddy. He and I met as teenagers back in 1973, which led to a friendly banjo rivalry of many decades, in which he has consistently come out on top. It is a matter of personal pride to see my friend accept such a prestigious award, so fully deserved.
Of the Martin Prize, Bill said that he was taken aback by a delivery that arrived in November.
“FedEx arrived with a package and I had to sign for it. I opened it up and the first thing I saw was a copy of No Depression magazine. But under that was the letter from Steve.
After no touring for two and a half years, this was a beautiful surprise.”
Then on November 10, he participated in a live online award presentation, sponsored by Deering and Compass Records, co-presenters of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize, along with The Freshgrass Foundation.
Bill described the hectic day of the presentation, where he watched while pre[paring to perform with the Reunion in Sacramento.
“After some photos and music from my career, Alan Munde came on with a recorded video. Watching that I was an emotional wreck.
Then I played a song with the whole band in the lobby of the Side Door, where we were just finishing our sound check.”
California Bluegrass reunion – out of this world fun.
In addition to touring with California Bluegrass Reunion, which Bill describes as “out of this world fun,” Evans has a new album due this year, Things Are Simple. Expect news of a debut single coming up in the next few weeks.
He will also be teaching a live workshop series at PegHead Nation on The Banjo Style of J.D. Crowe, along with Ron Block and Ron Stewart.
Congratulations to Bill Evans for this major award!
This prize, currently administered by The FreshGrass Foundation, was initiated in 2010 by comedian and celebrity banjoist Steve Martin, and funded from his own resources. A single player of note was selected each year by Martin and his board of advisors consisting of top banjo artists, and awarded an unrestricted grant of $50,000.
Martin said at the time that he chose such a generous amount as he knew it would attract the attention of media and music lovers alike, as the point of the prize, known then as The Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass Music, was specifically to turn the attention of the wider public towards these outstanding musicians.
Speaking of today’s honorees, Martin simply says, “We are proud to honor all of the multitudes of banjo styles. So many great artists, so little time.”
To increase the number of worthy artists receiving this recognition, the Martin Prize is now given to two or more players annually, who each are awarded a $25,000 grant.
Evans, a Norfolk, VA native, now resides in New Mexico, but the greatest part of his contribution to the banjo world was while living in California’s Bay Area. In addition to his performing and recording career, including time with Dry Branch Fire Squad and California Bluegrass Reunion, he is an internationally renowned banjo instructor, offering clinics and workshops all over the world, as well as private lessons. Bill is the author of Banjo for Dummies, and has produced DVD instructional programs for AcuTab Publications, Homespun Tapes, and the Murphy Method. Also a recognized expert in banjo styles from the 18th and 19th centuries, he has written and performs a very informative live program called The Banjo in America, which features Bill demonstrating and performing music of those eras on either historical or period correct instruments. The Banjo in America is also available on DVD/CD.
Enda Scahill is an Irish tenor banjoist who performs currently with the group he founded, We Banjo 3. His technically demanding style has won him four national banjo championships in Ireland, and like Evans, is deeply involved in sharing his knowledge and expertise with others. Scahill is host of the popular podcast, Inside the Banjoverse, and has authored The Irish Banjo Tutor Vol I and II, which endure as the best selling manuals for tenor banjo available today. He came to wide attention as a member of The Brock McGuire Band and has recorded and toured with top artists like The Chieftains, Ricky Skaggs, Frankie Gavin, and Stockton’s Wing.
Later today at 6:00 p.m. eastern, both Evans and Scahill will be featured on the weekly Deering Live vidcast, where the 2022 honorees will perform and be interviewed.
