"Along Came Sonny" is a new banjo instrumental from five-string banjo player Bill Evans' upcoming release "Things Are Simple" (Native and Fine Records 906-13)set for release on January 27, 2023. This track features some of the most well-known bluegrass musicians on the planet: New Acoustic Music pioneer Darol Anger and Chad Manning on fiddles, John Reischman on mandolin, Jim Nunally on guitar, Sharon Gilchrist on bass and Bill Evans on banjo. "Things Are Simple" spotlights seven original Bill Evans tunes along with Bill's debut as a lead singer on the title track, featuring his wife Babi and a string quartet arranged by Alisa Rose, and "True He's Gone," a mournful and unusual gospel song featuring Babi and daughter Corey Evans on harmony vocals. A special pre-release CD version of the entire project is available at www.billevansbanjo.com. Thanks for listening!

Along Came Sonny

Things Are Simple

"Gertie & Jake" is an up-tempo hard-driving bluegrass instrumental from "Things Are Simple," the new project from 2022 Steve Martin Banjo Prize recipient Bill Evans. This track features some of the most respected musicians in bluegrass music: John Reischman (mandolin), Jim Nunally (guitar), Chad Manning (fiddle) and Sharon Gilchrist (bass). The track is named after two of Bill's family's pets, Gertie the dachshund and Jake, the border collie. Banjo legend Alan Munde calls this "a good pickin' tune" and that's good enough for us!

Gertie & Jake

"All Just To Get To You" is the lead-off single from the new CD "Prime Time" by Crary, Evans & Barnick.

Dan Crary is one of bluegrass music’s pioneers in creating a place for flatpicking lead guitar solos in the bluegrass band. A founding member of the influential Bluegrass Alliance in the late 1960’s and one of the primary creators of the "newgrass" approach and playing fiddle tunes on lead guitar, Dan’s 20+ year collaboration with Byron Berline and John Hickman has earned him numerous awards and accolades. Along the way, Dan has recorded an impressive series of solo releases on Rounder and Sugar Hill Records.

Bill Evans is an internationally loved five-string banjo life force who is celebrated as a performer, researcher, recording artist, teacher, workshop director and author. His 2012 CD In Good Company topped folk and bluegrass charts. He's also the author of Banjo for Dummies.

Wally Barnick is the solid bass man and famously soulful singer, with a four-decades long resume of performances with great Americana and bluegrass groups including the Cache Valley Drifters, Bluegrass, Etc., and the Kate Wolf Band.

Prime Time represents both a strong return to form for Dan as well as a new trio sound. It’s a varied collection of tunes touching upon the trio's bluegrass, folk, gospel and Irish influences, drawing from songwriters such as Joe Ely, John Hiatt, Steve Young and the Stanley Brothers. This recording also represents Bill Evans' first band project since the 1990's and his virtuosic banjo playing and tenor singing throughout is a highlight of this release. Add Wally's warm lead and harmony vocals and Kenny Blackwell, guesting on mandolin on five cuts, and you have the ingredients for an important debut release and a fresh new West Coast contemporary bluegrass sound.

“At some point,” says Dan, “Bill, Wally and I realized that the studio tracks we had recorded were starting to add up. They made sense and sounded beautiful together. Suddenly, the next CD was picking up steam. And I knew that when these partners of mine got going on a project, something intense would kick in and I’d better get on board. So they did, and I did, and IT did! And I’ll be danged, all of a sudden, we’re on the radio and getting nice reviews! Thanks folks…what a great time!”

January 6 mixes

All Just To Get To You

New Mexico-based player and Virginia native Bill Evans is the 2022 recipient of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize. He has been involved with bluegrass music and the banjo for over forty-five years as a player, teacher, composer, author and historian. Bill occupies a unique niche in the banjo world: he is celebrated worldwide for his traditional and progressive bluegrass banjo styles and his innovative original compositions. He also enjoys a reputation as an outstanding instructor and music camp director as well as being an expert player of 19th and early 20th century minstrel and classic banjo styles. He has recorded four critically acclaimed solo recordings, including The Banjo in America, a DVD/CD set covering music from the 1780’s to the present day, and is the author of "Banjo For Dummies" and "Bluegrass Banjo For Dummies." He directs his own music camps in New Mexico,  hosts four online instructional courses for Peghead Nation and four online workshops for Homespun Music.

Bill counts his many teachers and mentors as crucial to his development as a musician. These include Ben Eldridge, Bill Keith, Tony Trischka, Alan Munde, Ron Thomason, Sonny Osborne and J. D. Crowe. Bill currently tours with his solo show "The Banjo in America" and performs with guitar legend Dan Crary and with the All-Star California Bluegrass Reunion. Over the years, Bill has performed with Dry Branch Fire Squad, David Grisman, Peter Rowan, Jody Stecher, Tony Trischka , Kathy Kallick & Alan Munde, among many others.

Bill has taught at over 200 banjo and bluegrass camps all over the world and he has helped thousands of people to find joy in the banjo through his books, online courses and videos, workshops and one-on-one lessons. He feels that his greatest accomplishment has been to bring people together through the banjo.

Bill Evans Banjo

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