Black Banjo Renaissance: Reflections on the Future

In 2005, the first Black Banjo Gathering convened on the campus of Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, and helped launch what award-winning musician and composer Rhiannon Giddens called the Black Banjo Renaissance. This ongoing movement brings together banjo players, makers, and scholars of African descent to both reclaim the instrument's roots and reimagine its future. From that founding gathering emerged the GRAMMY Award-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, the string band led by Rhiannon Giddens, Dom Flemons, and Justin Robinson that introduced new audiences to Black string band practitioners, as well as a whole generation of players, makers, and thinkers devoted to honoring the banjo’s Black roots.
Twenty years have passed since this event. The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress will celebrate this milestone with a FREE, public symposium and concert on July 21st, open to all who register in advance.

We are inviting BBRP Folk to attend this FREE symposium in DC.

NOTE: Separate registrations are required for the day-time panel presentations and the evening program.

Register here for the Symposium (daytime)
Register here for the Keynote/Concert (evening)

For a deeper look into archival material on Black banjo players held at the Library of Congress’s American Folklife Center explore the research guide, African-American Banjo Music: Resources in the American Folklife Center.