Hot Gig Alert (06.12): Alison Brown brings her banjo to Groton, MA
Grammy-award-winning acoustic instrumentalist Alison Brown comes back to perform in Massachusetts this week. Brown took an interesting path to her current career as an internationally recognized banjoist. She worked as an investment banker after earning her MBA from UCLA and her undergraduate degree from Harvard University. She studied history and literature there. Born in Connecticut, Brown learned to play guitar at age eight and banjo at age 10. Growing up in southern California, Brown played bluegrass and when she saw that Alison Krauss was looking for a banjo player, she gave up her financial career for music. In 1993, she formed her own group, Alison Brown Quartet.
Many connect the banjo with twangy, rural country music. An innovative five-string banjo player, Brown blends roots, bluegrass, folk and jazz into the songs she plays on the banjo. Her music is generally more melodic and often relaxing and comforting. As an instrumentalist, Brown stretches the capacities of the instrument to derive its full potential through the songs she writes. Brown has released 12 solo albums. Her latest album, On Banjo, was released in 2023. She earned a Grammy for the song “Leaving Cottondale,” a collaboration with Bela Fleck. She’s a frequent musical collaborator with actor/comedian/banjoist Steve Martin. That’s how I first heard of her. Brown is the co-founder of internationally recognized roots music label Compas Record Group. Alison and her band have toured extensively around the U.S. and abroad. They’ve performed at prestigious venues including The Kennedy Center, Newport Folk Festival, Telluride Blugrass Festival, MerleFest, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Philadelphia Folk Festival, FreshGrass, Celtic Connections (Scotland), Dublin National Concert Hall (Ireland) and Verbier Music Festival (Switzerland).
:: Alison Brown performs at Groton Hill Music Center on Thursday, June 12 at 8pm. Tickets start at $39 (including fees) and can be purchased HERE ::
Featured image by: Stacie Huckeba
