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
china fell felt intimate love process time truly trying
China was the first time I truly felt like an outsider. I fell in love with the process of trying to become intimate with the culture.
banjo child connect deal fell future god pain parents past period playing record time
When I first started playing the banjo and miraculously fell into a record deal in Nashville, TN, there was a period when I didn't go to China. It hurt. Like a pain in my gut... that pain you feel when you know it's time to connect with your parents or your God or your child or your past or your future... and you don't do it.
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.
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.
music
You can enjoy many different types of music. I think that's something more Americans should think about.
best doors finally general supposed
I have a general sense of mission, and I intuitively know when something is influencing that mission. I think this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Doors keep opening. In the end, it's the best use of my skills. I've finally consented to the idea that I'm an artist.
believe change music power
I believe in music because it has the power of change.
intention power
I would say I've always lived creativity, but now I - I do it with an intention that's got a completely different power.
music pot
I feel like my kind of music is a big pot of different spices. It's a soup with all kinds of ingredients in it.
beauty common drive human louder music needs search share sure
My whole drive is to make sure that music is a common space where we search for beauty and share it. It needs to be louder than any conversation. That's where we have to go as a human race.
era learned marches mom peace
As a child, I went to peace and ERA marches on the back of my mom and grandmother. Through them I learned that I wanted to find a way to make the world a more kind, compassionate place.
afraid
You have to try things you're really afraid of, even if you pee yourself a little bit.
band choir gospel love reggae sang singing truthfully women
I sang in a reggae band. And then there was a soul band where I sang back-up vocals and some lead. And I was also in a women's a capella group. And I was in the gospel choir at school. Actually, I've always been in choirs. Or some kind of group. Just because I love singing so much. But I truthfully never thought of it as a career.