Photo courtesy of Abigail Washburn
Abigail Washburn is an American clawhammer banjo player and singer who performs as a soloist and with bands such as Uncle Earl, a bluegrass quartet, and the Sparrow Quartet, combining old-time music with Chinese lyrics and melodies. Named the first U.S.-China Fellow at Vanderbilt University, Washburn is one of the few foreign artists currently touring China regularly and independently. In 2009, she released a fundraiser CD Afterquake with Dave Liang for Sichuan earthquake victims. In 2013, she debuted Post-American Girl, a theatrical work that draws from her seventeen-year relationship
From the Festival
Abigail Washburn sings on the Moonrise Pavilion stage.
Photo by Francisco Guerra, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
Abigail Washburn performs on a claw-hammer banjo.
Photo by Hermine Dreyfuss, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
Abigail Washburn performs in the Moonrise Pavilion.
Photo by Pruitt Allen, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
Abigail Washburn performs a collaborative song with hua’er singer Kong Weifang.
Photo by Francisco Guerra, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
