Skip to main content

Steve Martin Banjo Prize Gets Wild and Crazy Announcing 5 Winners for 2020

This year has already been pretty extra, but the stakeholders behind the Steve Martin Banjo Prize just said, "Hold my beer." According to a No Depression article today, five banjo players have won the 2020 award.


You may recall that after the 2019 award was announced, there was some uncertainty as to whether the prize would continue. In August, which according to the calendar I have here was only two months ago, the non-profit FreshGrass Foundation signed on to continue awarding the prize into its second decade. 

In the past, there was only one winner per year, with a cash prize of $50,000. With FreshGrass taking the reins, the organization announced that the prize would an annual award of $25,000 to one or more banjo players across the stylistic spectrum including both five- and four-string banjo masters. 

"However, in light of the tremendous need in the musical community this year, the 2020 prize will be $50,000 split equally between five banjo players," according to the FreshGrass website. This year's winners are: 
  • Jake Blount, a clawhammer banjo player, fiddler and scholar who specializes in the music of Black and indigenous communities. I reviewed his debut album Spider Tales in June.
  • Catherine “BB” Bowness, a Scruggs-style player who was born in New Zealand and trained at the New Zealand School of Music and the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. She is a member of Mile Twelve, which won Best New Artist at this year’s IBMA awards.
  • Matthew Davis, a 21-year-old member of the “chambergrass” band Westbound Situation and progressive bluegrassers Circus No. 9. He won the National Banjo Championship at age 17 and studied jazz at University of Michigan.
  • Gerry O’Connor, a Dublin, Ireland-based tenor banjo player who is known for experimenting with elements from bluegrass to African to Asian and back to Irish again. He has played with many artists, including Joe Bonamassa, and played on the Lord of the Dance soundtrack.
  • Buddy Wachter, regarded as one of the most influential four-string plectrum banjo players, Wachter has played more than 7,000 concerts to audiences in 130 countries.
The winners will perform Wednesday, Oct. 14, as part of the FreshGrass Festival’s virtual #FreshStreams, introduced by Steve Martin. The event will stream at 8 p.m. ET on Facebook live and will also include performances from Chris Thile, Dom Flemons and Alison Brown with the Kronos Quartet.

In these wild and crazy times, it's great to see the Steve Martin Banjo Prize continuing on and recognizing a more diverse crop of musicians. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Ultimate Banjo Joke Compendium

This post is dedicated to my friend Joel Specht. Ever since the Olitsky & Moskovitz concert last month, my son has been obsessed with banjo jokes. During one of the MANY tuning breaks, they asked the crowd to fill the time by telling their favorite quips about the old five-string. Joel told many that night. I've been trying to remember them, along with best ones I've heard over the years for when my son asks again, so I thought I'd make this list. Question: What's the difference between a banjo and an onion? Answer: Nobody cries when you cut up a banjo. Question: How do you know if the floor is level? Answer: The banjo player is drooling out of both sides of his mouth. Question: What's the difference between a banjo and trampoline? Answer: You take your shoes off to jump on a trampoline. Question: What's the definition of perfect pitch? Answer: When you can throw a banjo into a dumpster without hitting the sides. Question: How do yo...
9 comments
Click to continue »

Clawhammer Picks and You: A Review

Clawhammer picks are a useful tool for increasing volume or to overcome fingernail challenges, such as broken, too short or weak nails. There are all sorts of commercial and homemade solutions available for banjo players, but it can be difficult to decide which options to choose. Thankfully, I've already done some of the work for you. Just to be clear, I prefer my natural fingernail for frailing. However, there was a time when I experimented with regularly using a pick, and there are instances now where I find that a pick is necessary. Today, I'll take you through the five options I've tried. These are all available online at prices ranging from about $1 to $13. Reversed/Reshaped Dunlop Pick ($0.75) This was the most common suggestion before other companies started addressing the gap in the clawhammer pick market. Take a bluegrass pick, flatten it out and wear it backwards. The problem is that it's hard to get the fit right. While Dunlop picks are cheap and r...
8 comments
Click to continue »

Summer Blockbusters: Top 10 Banjo Movies

We’re nearing the end of the summer movie season, which this year has included blockbusters like Avengers: Infinity War , Solo: A Star Wars Story , Incredibles 2 and other movies, including some that weren’t produced by Disney. However, none of these films showcases a banjo in any way. It's not like the banjo hasn't been featured on the silver screen throughout film history. The five-string has starred in numerous movies, sometimes in its proper context as a musical instrument and other times as a comedic prop. Whether making a cameo or starring in the hands of the main character, it's well past time to present my Top 10 Banjo Blockbusters: O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000) Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, this movie sucked me into the realm of old-time , bluegrass and country music in general. The banjo is featured in a number of songs on the soundtrack and shows up on screen a few times throughout the movie. Top Banjo Moment: Delmar picks the banjo b...
5 comments
Click to continue »