When people outside of the bluegrass world think of banjos, they may think of Deliverance, but within the larger music community—and not just bluegrass—o ne name that comes to mind is Tony Trischka. He has played with the best—and even taught some of the best in the music business.
Trischka continues to teach and to compose music of his own. He was recently asked to compose a piece for a performance at a Boston museum, and he is working on a piece for a chamber group for a festival in Utah. Triischka has been working on a personal project to set the poems of Emily Dickinson to music, and plans to have one of those pieces performed at the festival.
However, what has captured his focus over the past two or three years—and what brings him to MerleFest 2025—is his Earl Jam project. Trischka learned that during jams with Earl Scruggs, John Hartford had the foresight to break out the tape recorder and preserve songs that many never heard the late great musicians play.
Granted access to the tapes of over 200 songs, Trischka meticulously transcribe Scruggs banjo licks note for note, then brought together a dream team of singers and performers to accompany him on an album of some of those songs—Stuart Duncan, Ronnie McCoury, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Billy Strings, Sierra Ferrell, and many more.
The first album from the Earl Jam project included such timeless classics as “Amazing Grace,” “Roll on Buddy,” and “Cripple Creek,” as well as “Lady Madonna.” He anticipates the release of Earl Jam II in August.
Trischka will be joined on the MerleFest stage by Michael Daves on guitar and vocals, Casey Driessen on fiddle, and bass player Jared Engel. He will also be joined other guest artists on this year’s festival roster. In addition to songs from the first album, he plans to preview some from the upcoming project as well.
Trischka looks forward to returning to MerleFest for the first time since his now-grown children will young. Festival-goers can anticipate a treat as the banjo master brings together his musical colleagues to create magic.
Trischka will play Friday at the Watson Stage (12:45), Hillside Stage (5:15), and Walker Center Stage (11:00).
(Cover photo by Chris Morris)