Abigail Washburn
Abigail Washburn
Abigail Washburnis an American clawhammer banjo player and singer. She performs and records as a soloist, as well as with the old-time bands Uncle Earl and Sparrow Quartet, experimental group The Wu Force, and as a duo with her husband Béla Fleck...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBanjo Player
Date of Birth10 November 1977
CountryUnited States of America
born elementary high junior living school spent three time vermont
I was born in Evanston, Illinois. I spent my elementary and part of my junior high school years in a D.C. suburb. And then I spent my high school years in Minnesota. And then I spent my college years in Colorado. And then I spent some time living in China. And then I spent three years in Vermont before moving down to Nashville.
china close delight felt level local moments opened relationships since time touring visited whenever
Whenever I visited China in the past, the relationships always felt superficial; there was no time where I felt those moments of conflict and delight that make you feel close to another person. But since I started touring there in 2004, I would always collaborate with local musicians, and that opened up a new level of intimacy.
area becoming brought china divine industry intention living miraculous music powers
I had no intention of becoming a performer, and yet under miraculous circumstances I was brought into the music industry fold. If divine powers hadn't intervened, I'd still be living in China working in some area of Sino-American comparative law.
common complete ground home music nation universal
I do see music as complete refuge. It's a universal home, complete common ground between everyone; it comes from a place that has no nation and no boundaries around it.
elements felt gotten life moved music separation situations time
I've moved around so much my whole life, and I've gotten so used to being the Other in situations - the foreigner, the outsider. The first time I've ever felt like there was no separation between me and the other elements was in music.
carried huge life
One thing I carried my whole life, especially from my grandparents in Chicago, was a huge idealism for the world.
flute girls played tried
I played piano and was always in the choir. I tried to play flute because all the pretty girls played flute.
luther martin sends speech trajectory
Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech always sends me down some path, some trajectory of some creative idea.
needs lawyer china
U.S.-China relations doesn't need another lawyer.
girl pretty-girl play
I tried to play flute because all the pretty girls played flute.
chinese novelty chinese-music
For most Americans, my Chinese music feels like a novelty and it's not what it is for me,
player chinese singing
I reside in a new colony for the Chinese-singing banjo player, with a population of one. At least I have something I have to do with my life.
girl chinese banjos
I'm, I guess you could say, the Chinese-speaking, banjo-picking girl.
ideas creative together
Is it an original idea? Or is it something where you're literally a creative collagist? You're taking pieces of the world that you see around you and that are inside of you and put them together in a way that you see fit.