The Creole Gallery presents Bill Evans--"One of the best banjo pickers on the planet."

Thursday , June 01, 2006
07:30 pm
Location: The Creole Gallery
concert ($14.00)

"High kudos" from Tony Trischka (himself a widely-acclaimed master of the five-string banjo) is high kudos indeed. Bill Evans occupies a unique niche in the banjo world; he is celebrated worldwide for his traditional and progressive styles and original compositions, and he enjoys a reputation as an outstanding artist and instructor in 19th-century minstrel and parlor styles. Praising the talented ethnomusicology doctoral candidate, Trischka adds: "It's one thing to be a strong progressive banjo player; another to excel at the traditional end of the spectrum. To be able to add an indelible mark to the whole history of the instrument is getting ridiculous."

Bill Evans is visiting the Lansing area the first week of June for the second annual Midwest Banjo Camp--and he is offering a public concert at the Creole Gallery, located at 1218 Turner Street in Lansing's Old Town. Bill will be joined on the Creole's stage by area artists Peter Knopfer, Tom Ball, Ron McKeever, and Kevin Gaugier--and a good time will be had by all. Tickets are available at Elderly Instruments.

Bill Evans is one of the most well-rounded artists on today's music scene (remember the ethnomusicology candidacy?); in addition to having recently launched his band The Bill Evans String Summit, for several years Bill has authored "Off the Record," one of the most popular monthly instructional columns for Banjo Newsletter. He hosts his own annual NashCamp Fall Banjo Retreat with Sonny Osborne in Nashville, and he presents banjo workshops across the country at major festivals.

Bill released his second solo recording project Bill Evans Plays Banjo in late 2001. The Chicago Tribune's David Royko wrote of the release, "Bill Evans has created an instrumental masterpiece...an album certain to be viewed in the future as a classic," and added it to his Top 10 Bluegrass CDs of 2001. Bill is the subject of cover stories in Muleskinner (1999), Bluegrass Now (1996), and Banjo Newsletter (1996 and 2001), and was included in the June 2002 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited.

For more information visit www.creolegallery.com or call (517) 487-9549.

Check out recordings we carry featuring Bill Evans