Galway banjo player and We Banjo 3 member Enda Scahill has been announced as one of two winners of the 2022 Steve Martin Banjo Prize, an award founded by the US actor and musician.

The prize was founded by Martin in 2010 and recognises banjo players across the world in any genre or style, including both four- and five-string banjos. The other winner this year is US musician Bill Evans who plays the five-string banjo and is a performer, teacher, writer, and composer.

Scahill has toured extensively with We Banjo 3 and has released five albums with the group, including  Live in Galway (2015) and String Theory (2016), which reached number one in the Billboard World Charts. He has also performed with The Chieftains, recorded with Ricky Skaggs, toured with Frankie Gavin and Stockton’s Wing, and was an original member of The Brock McGuire Band. He released the solo album Pick It Up (2000), Humdinger (2006) with Paul Brock, and Green Grass Blue Grass (2011) with The Brock McGuire Band. We Banjo 3 have also been nominated for an RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards this year in the Best Folk Group category.

Scahill has published two banjo tutors and has also developed an online programme for teaching the instrument.

Scahill and Evans will both receive a prize of $25k. Previous recipients of the award include Rhiannon Giddens, Noam Pikelny, Jens Kruger and Kristin Scott Benson. 

For further information, visit: https://bit.ly/3GmkGy3.

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