Workshop: Old Time Banjo

Banjo Workshop — Keeping old time alive with Frank Fairfield

Frank Fairfield, modern day purveyor of classic popular music, will speak to the notion of music being timeless. His workshop will consist of performance of standard popular songs, interspersed with the history of those songs. Frank will conduct this workshop in a very casual, friendly way, with questions, answers and songs freely flowing.

Frank Fairfield may have an old folk sound, but he’s just 24, and he hails from California’s central valley — not Appalachia. He plays banjo and fiddle music, and has opened for acts such as Fleet Foxes. With his Brylcreem-parted hair and high-waisted pants, he brings an old-time aesthetic to his old-time music. On his self-titled first album, released last year, he plays the standards of the American folk repertoire — songs that have been played by many artists over generations. Fairfield says he thinks the banjo’s reputation has suffered as of late, but argues that it can be a sweet and warm instrument. He adds that playing American folk music was a natural place to start for him. “I’m just picking up where [music] left off and just keep playing and see what happens from there,” he says. Fairfield’s latest project is a compilation album, titled Unheard Ofs & Forgotten Abouts. It showcases the work of other artists he discovered in his personal collection of old 78s from around the globe. -npr.org