TONY TRISCHKA’S EARL JAM – FEATURING MICHAEL DAVES • BLUEGRASS

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2026
4:00 PM
CHESTER MEETING HOUSE

“Tony Trischka is known as the father of modern bluegrass” – NY Times.

Tony Trischka is considered the consummate banjo artist and perhaps the most influential banjo player in the roots music world. For more than 50 years, his stylings have inspired a whole generation of bluegrass and acoustic musicians with the many voices he has brought to the instrument.

Tony will be honoring the music of Earl Scruggs, pioneer of the three-finger banjo style and one of the most important musicians in bluegrass, or, in Tony’s opinion, in any genre.

Trischka recently came into possession of extremely rare recordings of jam sessions with Scruggs and John Hartford, and he’s transcribed and recorded Scruggs’s note-for-note solos from a number of these. Many songs that Earl had never recorded.

Together with his ace band—Michael Daves on vocals and guitar, fiddler Alex Hargreaves and bassist Jared Engel— they will trace the story of Scruggs from his childhood to his final years. This show debuted at Joe’s Pub in New York City which drew lots of interest including an appearance on the Grand Ole Opry, a rarity for a banjo player these days.

“Earl is my North Star, a lifetime pathway. And I’m not alone,” says Trischka, a banjo innovator and educator who has influenced everyone from Béla Fleck to Steve Martin. “Through his music, this shy kid from Flint Hill, North Carolina went on to enrich countless thousands of lives. At the age of 13, when I first heard 16 notes of Scruggs style banjo playing, I put down my folk guitar and mercilessly pestered my parents to buy me a banjo. Once in my hands, that 5-string became my obsession and has been for 60 years.”

He adds, “the depth of his genius becomes ever more apparent when I transcribe his solos, which I’ve been doing my entire musical life and with renewed vigor. Discovering new twists and turns in his playing is pure joy and in fact the inspiration for this tribute show and album.”

About Michael Daves

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, GRAMMY nominee Michael Daves grew up playing bluegrass in the grand old tradition of staying up late & singing loud. Although he’s since moved north, the Southern roots permeate his music, however traditional or experimental. Heralded as “a leading light of the New York bluegrass scene” by The New York Times, Daves has garnered attention for his work with Chris Thile, Steve Martin, Tony Trischka, and others, in addition to his solo performances.

Although he is best known as a roots musician, Daves gravitated toward experimental music and jazz while studying at Hampshire College in Massachusetts. Relocating to Brooklyn in 2003, he began to crave the social interaction and musical challenges of bluegrass: “In Western Massachusetts, I was mostly doing jazz. By the time I moved to New York, I was ready to leave that behind, get back to my personal roots in bluegrass music. There were good jam sessions in New York and I was excited to reenter a regular jamming culture in the city. And I was getting back into rock music, too. The Brooklyn scene in 2003 and 2004 was pretty fertile. There was a lot of great, kind of raw, experimental rock music happening at that time, drawing me in, scratching an itch.”

Daves is also a devoted teacher with over twenty-five years of experience whose instructional style is aimed at helping students develop and refine their own natural musical sensibilities while exploring a wealth of American roots traditions, particularly bluegrass.

*  *  *

At the conclusion of the program, audience members are invited to meet and greet the artists and share complementary catered snacks and a glass of wine.