Grammy winning duo, Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn Tour the UK and US in 2020
Grammy winning duo, Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn, will be bringing their banjos and babies across the big pond for their first UK tour since 2015, this time in support of their latest album, Echo in the Valley.
“It’s a dream to be a part of Celtic Connections and collaborate with our friends in Dervish, make a few visits to the BBC, perform in Dublin, London, and Saffron Walden,” says Washburn. “And then we’ll return to the States for a chilly Midwest run, a hometown show at the Ryman to play with Calexico and Iron & Wine, then off to the west coast. Hope to see you around!”
Watch Béla and Abigail demonstrate one of the world’s largest banjos on PBS Sound Field, and breakdown clawhammer and three-finger banjo styles.
About Béla and Abigail
Béla Fleck has the virtuosic, jazz-to-classical ingenuity of an iconic instrumentalist and composer with bluegrass roots, and the distinction of being nominated in more categories than any other instrumentalist in Grammy history. He has brought the banjo to his standard-setting ensemble Béla Fleck & the Flecktones – also on tour in 2020 – and a staggeringly broad array of musical experiments, from writing two banjo concerts (The Impostorand Juno Concerto), to exploring the banjo’s African roots with Throw Down Your Heart to duos with Chick Corea and Chris Thile.
Abigail Washburn has the earthy sophistication of a postmodern, old-time singer-songwriter who has drawn critical acclaim for her solo albums. She has also done fascinating work in folk musical diplomacy in China (TED Talk: Building US and China Relations… by Banjo), presented an original theatrical production Post-American Girl, performs in a duo with guzheng master, Wu Fei and is a member of Uncle Earl.
Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn Tour Dates
Jan 18-19 Glasgow, UK Celtic Connections
Jan 21 Dublin, Ireland National Concert Hall
Jan 23 Saffron Walden, UK Saffron Hall
Jan 25 London, UK The Barbican
Jan 31 Spartanburg, SC Chapman Cultural Center – SOLD OUT
Feb 03 Kent, OH The Kent Stage – SOLD OUT
Feb 04 Bloomington, IL The Castle Theatre
Feb 06 Elgin, IL Elgin Community College
Feb 07 Eau Claire, WI Pablo Center at the Confluence
Feb 08 Green Lake, WI Thrasher Opera House (2 shows)
Feb 09 Viroqua, WI Historic Temple Theatre
Feb 11 Nashville, TN Ryman (w/ Calexico and Iron & Wine)
Feb 18 Ashland, OR Oregon Center for the Arts
Feb 19 Bend, OR Tower Theatre – SOLD OUT
Feb 20 Portland, OR Portland’5 Centers for the Arts
Feb 22 Bellevue, WA Wintergrass Music Festival
Apr 21 Frankfort, KY Grand Theatre
Apr 22 Owings Mills, MD Gordon Center
Apr 24 Manassas, VA Hylton Performing Arts Center
Apr 25 Richmond, VA Modlin Center for the Arts
Apr 26 Easton, MD Avalon Theater
May 02 Chattanooga, TN Walker Theatre
May 05 Stuart, FL The Lyric Theatre
May 07 Lake Wales, FL Lake Wales Arts Center
May 08 Ocala, FL Reilly Arts Center
May 09 Athens, GA Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall
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