Dubbed “Steve Martin’s Big Bad Banjo and a conversation with Dave Barry,” the performance is set to place at Los Angeles’ L.A.
Live Club Nokia, and will benefit the Los Angeles Public Library, according to a press release. Martin will be performing songs from his January release, “The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo,” which currently sits atop Billboard’s Bluegrass chart. Backing Martin during the May 11 concert will be The Steep Canyon Rangers band and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band founder John McEuen, who produced “The Crow.” “I am very excited to raise money for the Los Angeles Public Library and plan to try to keep it all,” Martin said in a prepared statement. “In today’s economy, we need to support our public libraries,” added Barry. “And when you say ‘public library,’ the phrase that immediately comes to mind is ‘banjo music.’ So I’m really looking forward to asking Steve Martin probing questions about his new album, such as ‘WHY'”
Originally released exclusively through Amazon.com in late January, “The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo” will enjoy a wider retail release via Rounder Records on May 19. Martin, who has been playing the banjo for decades, wrote all of the songs on the set. Guest performers who appear on the album include Mary Blak, Vince Gill, Tim O’Brien, Dolly Parton, Early Scruggs, McEuen, Stuart Duncan, Jerry Douglas, Pete Wernick and Tony Trischka. More information is available at Martin’s .