Swallow Hill Music is thrilled to announce its first-ever BanjoFest, which takes place on Saturday, November 9 from 10 am to 10 pm. The one-day festival is for banjo lovers of all stripes, be they pickers, listeners, or a little bit of both.
The event features a day filled with workshops, jams, and a gathering of the banjo community. It’s all capped off by an evening concert featuring banjo legend Tony Trischka, Carolina Chocolate Drops co-founder Dom Flemons, and up-and-coming old-time banjo innovator Brad Kolodner. All three banjo masters will host daytime workshops.
Instantly recognizable and often misunderstood, the banjo is an instrument with deep African roots that holds a unique place within the American musical landscape, and it has many tales to tell.
TICKETS: Join us at Swallow Hill BanjoFest on November 9!
Whether it’s a hot bluegrass solo in front of a frenzied festival audience, or a cozy clawhammer groove captured in the campfire’s glow, banjo music has emerged in the last 25 years from generations of misappropriation and pop culture clichés to reclaim its rightful place among the world’s most beloved instruments.
Over its 45 years, Swallow Hill Music has been Denver’s home for banjo instruction, not only for beginners, but advanced players who have joined ensembles and ultimately made their way to the stage, even Swallow Hill’s. When you factor in the history of its forerunner, The Denver Folklore Center, if you’ve heard a banjo being played by a local musician in Denver over the last 60 years, there’s a good chance the picker, the banjo, or both have passed through Swallow Hill’s doors.
“Swallow Hill is the perfect place to host an event like this because a large part of our mission is to bring people together through music,” David Dugan, Swallow Hill Music’s Talent Buyer, said. “And there’s no better way to do that than by celebrating an instrument.”
The banjo, in particular, has been ever-present in Swallow Hill’s history and throughout its community. “This is a great way to combine a concert and our school in a way that only Swallow Hill can in Denver,” Dugan added.
Speaking about the artists, Dugan said, “These are wonderful artists who are renowned throughout the folk and banjo scenes, not only in America, but across the globe. It’ll be a really fun experience to not only see them perform, but to see our community members come in and learn from them as we celebrate this incredible instrument!”
A complete schedule of workshops, including instructors, and daytime activities will be announced in the upcoming weeks. Thank you for supporting live music – and banjos – with Swallow Hill Music!
WORKSHOP DETAILS
BanjoFest’s workshops will be open to all banjo players, whether they are beginner, intermediate, or more advanced players. Workshop instructors will include the evening’s performers, as well as Swallow Hill Music teachers.
Workshops will feature instruction for the predominant styles in American banjo playing, Scruggs style or three-finger picking, and clawhammer playing. Workshops will focus not only on playing, but songwriting, and playing the banjo within musical genres not popularly associated with the instrument.
For a good explainer about the differences between Scruggs style and clawhammer banjo, click here.
ABOUT THE FEATURED PERFORMERS
Tony Trischka: From his landmark 1974 solo debut Bluegrass Light, to his frequent presence on NPR, to his Grammy-nominated albums Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular and Great Big World, Tony Trischka has raised the banjo’s profile in countless ways.
He’s imparted his hard-earned wisdom to countless students and collaborators, through his private instruction, books and DVDs, and his groundbreaking work with the ArtistWorks online teaching platform. In addition to his Grammy nominations, Trischka earned a number of honors over the years, including the International Bluegrass Music Award for Banjo Player of the Year in 2007, and he was named a United States Artists Friends Fellow in 2012. His impact is so great, the New York Times has declared “Tony Trischka is known as the father of modern bluegrass.”
Dom Flemons: Dr. Dom Flemons is the Co-Founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from Northern Arizona University. He is a Grammy Award Winner with four nominations, a two-time Emmy Nominee, an International Acoustic Music Award Grand Prize Winner, and a United States Artists Fellow.
Famously known as “The American Songster” with a repertoire that covers over one hundred years of American roots music including country, blues, folk, bluegrass, and Americana, Flemons is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music scholar, historian, actor, slam poet, record collector, podcaster, cultural commentator, and the creator, host, and producer of the American
Songster Radio Show on WSM in Nashville, TN. He is considered an expert player on the banjo, guitar, harmonica, jug, percussion, quills, fife, and rhythm bones.
Brad Kolodner: Hailed as a “defining voice in the contemporary banjo community,” Baltimore-based clawhammer banjoist Brad Kolodner represents the next generation of Old-Time musicians pushing the boundaries of the tradition into uncharted territory. Regarded for his delicate touch, expressive style, and original compositions, Kolodner has rapidly gained national attention for his unique approach to the banjo. A six-time finalist in the banjo contest at the Appalachian String Band Festival (Clifftop), he is on one hand rooted in tradition and on the other fiercely innovative.
Off the stage, he is an acclaimed teacher, award-winning radio broadcaster for Folk Alley and Bluegrass Country Radio, jam leader, festival organizer, community builder and ambassador for Old-Time and Bluegrass music.