7th Annual California Banjo Extravaganza starts this week

For the past six years, California banjoist Bill Evans has scheduled a series of concerts along the west coast, featuring himself and two other notable banjo pickers, and billed as the California Banjo Extravaganza. The idea is to give western audiences a chance to hear some of the players from back east who don’t often make it out to California. Bill generally grabs players whose approaches to the five string demonstrate some stylistic variance, and puts it together each year late in the season when touring schedules are lighter. For 2018, the 7th annual Extravaganza will highlight the music of Ned Luberecki and Chris Coole, along with Evans, and a backing band consisting of top west coast bluegrass artists. Ned has been a prominent banjo man for many years, culminating in being named Banjo Player of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association just a few weeks ago. He performs regularly with the Becky Buller Band, and has a number of solo recordings under his own name. SiriusXM listeners will know his rich radio voice from his weekly shows on Bluegrass Junction, More Banjo Sunday and Derailed. He is known for being both a skilled purveyor of traditional Scruggs-style banjo, and more contemporary and innovative forms as well...MORE