The Front Porch welcomes back local favorite Bill Evans, this time in concert with his wife, Babi. Bill is a Steve Martin Banjo Prize recipient and a member of the American Banjo Museum’s Hall of Fame who relocated back to his native Virginia in 2023.

In the first set, Bill will perform excerpts from his solo show “The Banjo in America,” featuring banjo music from the 1780’s to the current day on a variety of historic instruments, including mid-19th-century banjo pieces, late-19th and early-20th-century classic/ragtime banjo and 20th-century folk and bluegrass styles. In the second set, Bill and Babi will perform original songs and instrumentals, swapping off on guitar and banjo with an abundance of double banjo fireworks on some surprising contemporary pieces. 

Bill Evans has been involved with bluegrass music and the banjo for over forty-five years as a player, teacher, composer, writer and historian. Bill occupies a unique niche in the banjo world: he is celebrated worldwide for both 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, informed by his training in American music history at UC Berkeley. He has recorded four critically acclaimed solo recordings, including Things Are Simple and The Banjo in America, a DVD/CD set covering music from the 1780s to the present day. He is the author of Banjo for Dummies and Bluegrass Banjo for Dummies. He directs his own music camps all across the United States and hosts six online instructional courses for Peghead Nation. He has performed with the California Bluegrass Reunion, David Grisman, Peter Rowan, and David Bromberg, among many others.

This is a seated indoor show; seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, check out our FAQs!