Event

Bill Evans, Banjo in America

Tracing the banjo from its West African roots to the New World, Evans performs musical examples from the 1700's to the present day on a variety of vintage instruments, explaining how the banjo has been at the intersection of African- and Anglo-American musical and cultural exchange for over 250 years. From an 18th century African dance tune to the music of the Civil War, and from early 20th century ragtime to folk and bluegrass banjo styles, The Banjo in America informs while it entertains, exposing audiences to over 200 years of American music.

Bill Evans is well-known within the bluegrass music community not only as a musician, but also as a teacher, writer and scholar. The Banjo in America concert brings together these interests in a unique presentation designed for the concert stage.

"Bill is able to reach into the banjo's past to make a sublime statement of its future...to create a sound firmly rooted in tradition but still fresh and vital." Tim Bond, Bluegrass Now