Béla Fleck

It takes a hell of a lot to get me to brave the absolute sardine-pack that is a sold-out Ogden Theatre in Denver for 3 consecutive nights. There are very few bands that would warrant something like that but Billy Strings is up there at the top of the shortlist.  Over the course of a cold weekend in December, the city of Denver was lucky enough to get to take part in the only three-night run of Billy Strings’ fall tour.

What better way to celebrate this winter season than with old friends? The Flecktones launch Part II of their 30th Anniversary tour, kicking it off tonight in Auburn, AL. The guys have revisited some classics, and worked up a new tune or two, and are ready to be back at it with you!

Catch us on our 30th Anniverary Tour - see you out there!
TICKETS HERE

On Tuesday, July 9 at the Birchmere outside of Washington, DC, some of the greatest performers in American roots music will celebrate the life of their friend, Eileen Carson Schatz.

“It’s time for us to gather around our dear friends Mark and Eileen, who are going through the toughest of things,” says Béla Fleck, who will be joined by Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Sierra Hull, Danny Paisley and Eileen’s husband, Mark Schatz.  “This benefit is way we can support them, and to let them know how important they both are in our community.”

For the first time in Flecktones history, both Jeff Coffin and Howard Levy will be in the group for a special show at the the inaugural Béla Fleck & The Flecktones: Friends & Family on May 30 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Coffin, the former Flecktones’ woodwind player and current member of the Dave Matthews Band, will be performing with the band for the first time in a decade.

While Béla Fleck & The Flecktones were confirming the final dates on their most extensive tour in years, a hippo-shaped asteroid soared close to the earth (1.8 million miles, as reported by The Independent), as predicted by the band’s 1991 album Flight of the Cosmic Hippo.

On Saturday, December 22, a mile-long, hippo-shaped asteroid soared at a distance of 1.8 million miles from Earth, and a closer pass will not occur until 2070, reports The Independent.

Béla Fleck’s second annual Blue Ridge Banjo Camp will be held at the Brevard Music Center in Brevard, NC on August 14-18, 2019. The camp will feature 3 days and 4 nights of diverse banjo instruction by Béla himself alongside a cast of world class banjo players/instructors. The week will culminate with the Blue Ridge banjo finale concert held in the beautiful Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium. The instructional focus will be on the three distinct styles of three-finger banjo playing: Scruggs, melodic, and single string.

Béla Fleck, Abigail Washburn and renowned dance troupe Pilobolus have created their own timely ghost story by pairing two songs off their latest album, Echo in the Valley (Rounder), “Come All You Coal Miners” by Appalachian ballad singer, Sarah Ogan Gunning and the duo’s own “Take Me to Harlan.” 

Béla Fleck & The Flecktones started out in 1988 when Béla put the band together for a TV show called The Lonesome Pine Specials. 30 years later, the original lineup is heading out on the road for 13 shows this Summer. 

In the last decade, one the North Bay Area and wine country’s premier venues has become Weill Hall at Sonoma State University. Housed in the Green Music Center, this indoor/outdoor hybrid venue space is one of a kind. The theater has stunning wooden seats and a double-tiered balcony, while the outdoor lawn seating is ideal for year long daytime and nighttime shows. Despite its sizeable capacity, it feels homey and intimate with projector screens displaying multi-shot coverage of the stage up-close.