Over the past half-century, Béla Fleck has exploded the parameters of the banjo, taking his staggering musicality to inspired blends of bluegrass, fusion, folk, jazz, classical, global music and more. In the process he’s won 19 Grammy Awards and rightfully earned a reputation as one of our most brilliant instrumentalists.

Concerto Commission 2024

Tasked with reinterpreting the classical form of concerto, Cynthia Sayer, John Reischman & The Jaybirds, and Béla Fleck presented the audience with new compositions in the concerto style. Premiered on September 20, 2024 at FreshGrass Festival North Adams.

“FreshGrass has given me the opportunity and the prodding to finish the creation of 3 solo works that I started maybe 20 years ago. They are from a set of pieces that I call Plain Songs, and those are explorations and expansions of simple themes as they relate to the 5 string banjo and its tuning. They each began with a very simple idea using open strings as pedals or root motion, and then grew into quite complex organisms. I’m very excited to finally be premiering these pieces!”- Béla Fleck

photo by Hilary Saunders