Tony Trischka

One of the most influential modern banjoists, both in several forms of bluegrass music and occasionally in jazz and avant-garde, Tony Trischka has inspired a whole generation of progressive bluegrass musicians. Emerging in the 1960s as a member of the Down City Ramblers, Trischka cemented his reputation as a modern bluegrass innovator in the '70s with Country Granola, Country Cooking, Breakfast Special, and Monroe Doctrine. He founded his own group, Skyline, in the '80s, and later fronted Big Dogs, Psychograss, and Wayfaring Strangers, all while maintaining a successful solo career, which he sustained well into the next century with albums like Great Big World (2014), Shall We Hope (2021), and Earl Jam (2024). Not only is Trischka considered among the very best pickers, he's one of the instrument's top teachers as well, running workshops, releasing videos, and authoring numerous instructional books.