Early American banjo music is Black music. The banjo was created by enslaved African Americans, and according to the Smithsonian Institute, up until the 1830s, the banjo was exclusively an African ...

If there's any instrument in the quiver of American music that can simultaneously summon heartbreak, salvation and joy, it just might be the banjo. It's a simple mechanism of hoop, animal skin, neck ...

The Chaco-clad, North Face-toting students don’t seem to notice the slow trickle of people entering the auditorium. Sprawled in hammocks or bustling to class, the Appalachian State University ...

A 10-part limited series from Wondrium has the celebrated performer exploring the little-recognized historical roots of the banjo... and its tangled journey as the quintessential American instrument ...

Rhiannon Giddens is down at the river, carrying a flame of heritage, and she’s inviting anyone who wants to join her to come down and light their own wicks. Rivers are traditionally sites of salvation ...

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission. There is no way to achieve that old-fashioned Appalachian ...

African American roots -- The origins of black face minstrelsy -- The birth of a banjoist -- On the road in Great Britain -- Back in the United States : touring with a minstrel band and final days -- ...