Tony Trischka: A Tribute to Earl Scruggs

Legendary banjo player, composer, and instructor, Tony Trischka, has announced a new performance vehicle called A Tribute To Earl Scruggs.

Though Tony has been know primarily as an innovator in the banjo and bluegrass world, this new show focuses on Trischka’s admiration for the man who started it all.

He says that a return to studying Earl’s playing in recent years has fired him up to get out and present some of his music.

“Earl is my North Star, a lifetime pathway. And I’m not alone. Through his music, this shy kid from Flint Hill, North Carolina went on to enrich countless thousands of lives. At the age of 13, when I first heard 16 notes of Scruggs style banjo playing, I put down my folk guitar and mercilessly pestered my parents to buy me a banjo. Once in my hands, that 5-string became my obsession and has been for close to 60 years.

The depth of his genius becomes ever more apparent when I transcribe his solos, which I’ve been doing my entire musical life, and with renewed vigor. Discovering new twists and turns in his playing is pure joy and in fact the inspiration for this tribute show.”

With Michael Daves on vocals and guitar, Jared Engel on bass, Maddie Witler on mandolin, and Alex Hargreaves on fiddle, Tony’s Tribute to Earl Scruggs will debut a week from tonight, July 20, at Joe’s Pub, located in Manhattan near Astor Place on Lafayette Street. Despite the name, Joe’s is not a neighborhood watering hole, but an independent, non-profit music and arts theater dedicated to performance of every kind.

$20 tickets for the 7:00 p.m. show are available online. Joe’s Pub does still require masking and proof of vaccination status in order to attend shows. There is also a two drink or $12 minimum order at Joe’s Pub.

Tony is planning to make his Tribute to Earl Scruggs show available as a touring act. Interested parties are asked to contact management online.

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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.