Watch: Solo Performances a Rarity for Béla Fleck

Béla Fleck has had a wide-ranging career, with lots of platforms for his banjo explorations and mastery—the New Grass Revival, the Flecktones, the Silk Road Quartet, in collaboration with symphonies and the string quartet Brooklyn Rider, and in a rapturous duo with Abigail Washburn, his wife. But solo shows are something of a rarity for Fleck and long have been. At Big Ears 2019, we’ll have one. You never know what exactly to expect from these, but Fleck often mixes poignant retellings of old favorites with a high level of playful virtuosity. Watch this brilliant clip from 2007, in which he applies guitar hero tricks to his five strings, for an idea.