The Steve Martin Annual Banjo Prize Announces Five Winners

Steve Martin and the board of The Steve Martin Banjo Prize have announced the five winners of this year's annual Banjo Prize. The newly revamped prize considers candidates from across the Spectrum of banjo styles and this year's slate of winners is notable for its musical diversity as well as its demographic inclusivity.

On October 14th, as part of the FreshGrass Festival's virtual #FreshStreams event, Martin and the founding board members will introduce viewers to each of the five prize winners with a short video presentation to be followed by a musical performance from each winner, filmed exclusively for the event. Viewers can click HERE starting at 8 PM EDT to watch the event. Banjo Prize winners including the following musicians:

Jake Blount: Jake Blount is an award-winning clawhammer banjoist and scholar specializing in the music of Black and indigenous communities, while foregrounding the experiences of queer people and people of color in his work.

Catherine 'BB' Bowness: Born in New Zealand and trained at the New Zealand School of Music and University of North Carolina Greensboro, BB Bowness is at the forefront of the current crop of young players reimagining the musical possibilities for Scruggs style 5 string banjo.

Matthew Davis: At 21 years old, Matthew Davis is already one of his generation's premier banjo players and composers, exploring new musical territories for the instrument and winning the National Banjo Championship in the process.

Gerry O'Connor: Dublin, Ireland-based Gerry O'Connor has brought his unique tenor banjo style to places no other Irish banjo player has tread before, experimenting with elements from bluegrass to African to Asian and back to Irish again, all the while maintaining his Signature Sound.

Buddy Wachter: Widely regarded as the most influential 4-string banjo player of our time, Buddy Wachter has played more than 7,000 concerts to audiences in 130 countries and has introduced the instrument to some of the most remote parts of the globe.

The #FreshStreams event will benefit MusiCares®, allowing viewers to make charitable donations to support the musical community during times of need. #FreshStreams will also feature new exclusive performances from Chris Thile, Dom Flemons, Alison Brown with the Kronos Quartet, Smokey and the Mirror and Mamie Minch. Chris Thile's and Dom Flemons' performances were recorded live concert at MASS MoCA. Alison Brown will premiere a new piece composed for the FreshGrass Festival and recorded virtually with the Kronos Quartet, recipients of the 2019 FreshGrass Commission. And Mamie Minch will perform from Governors Island in NYC, proposed site of a future FreshGrass Festival.

#FreshStreams is taking place in lieu of what would have been the FreshGrass Festival's 10th annual live event this year. Known for its outstanding presentation of roots music acts on MASS MoCA's world renowned campus, FreshGrass has become one of the premiere festivals on the East Coast over the past decade and was a 2020 nominee for the International Bluegrass Music Association's Event of the Year award. Additional partners for the event include The FreshGrass Foundation's media properties No Depression and Folk Alley as well as MASS MoCA.

Since 2010, actor and comedian Steve Martin's Banjo Prize has awarded $50,000 each year to a banjo player with outstanding technical achievements and contributions to the bluegrass community, including Rhiannon Giddens, Noam Pikelny, and Jens Kruger. As it moves into its second decade, the award will continue under a partnership with the FreshGrass Foundation and Compass Records Group.

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