Deemed a "banjo virtuoso" by the Washington Post, Adam Hurt draws on diverse musical influences from the North Carolina piedmont, the mountains of central West Virginia, the Ohio River Valley, and beyond to create his own elegantly innovative clawhammer banjo playing. At age 25, Adam has already placed in or won most of the major old-time banjo competitions including Clifftop, Mount Airy, and Galax, and won the state banjo championships of Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio, as well as the state fiddle championships of Virginia and Maryland. A respected teacher of traditional music, Adam has conducted banjo workshops at the Swannanoa Gathering, the Augusta Heritage Center, and Appalshop, among other venues around the country.
In 2006, Adam released his second CD, "Insight," on the Ubiquitone label. This recording highlights Adam's innovative banjo playing both in solo settings and with accompaniment by Cathy Fink (guitar, banjo, bouzouki), Beth Hartness (guitar), Marcy Marxer (guitar, mandolin, uke), and Jarred Nutter (fiddle). The selections found on this CD represent a surprising diversity of traditional Appalachian music, running the gamut from Round Peak stalwarts to stringband rags, from a Bill Monroe original to three Ed Haley tunes recorded on clawhammer banjo for the first time.
Following up on the success of "Insight," Adam spent a year refining and recording new material for his latest CD, "Perspective," which was released in the summer of 2009. The focus is once again on Adam’s highly individual clawhammer banjo arrangements of traditional music, with able support from fiddler Stephanie Coleman and guitarists Beth Hartness, Andy Edmonds, and IBMA Guitarist of the Year Kenny Smith. Adam’s varied influences and sources are well represented on a collection of tunes from southern Appalachia and beyond, including selections from the repertoires of Marcus Martin, Ed Haley, and Bill Monroe.
Discography:
solo projects
-"Perspective" (Ubiquitone, 2009)
-"Insight" (Ubiquitone, 2006)
-"Intrigue" (Copper Creek Records, 2002)
anthologies
-"73rd Annual Old Fiddlers' Convention" (Heritage Records, 2009)
-"Old Time Banjo Festival" (Rounder Records, 2007)
-"Banjo in the Clawhammer Tradition" (Jim Lloyd Productions, 2007)
-"Clifftop--Best of 2005" (West Virginia Division of Culture and History, 2006)
-"69th Annual Old Fiddlers' Convention" (Heritage Records, 2005)
participation on other projects
-"Chance McCoy and the Appalachian String Band" (Appalachian Music Group, 2008)
-"Headin' Up Elk Creek" by Jerry Correll (Heritage Records, 2008)
-"Banjo Talkin'" by Cathy Fink (Rounder Records, 2007)
-"Time Machine" by Dakota Dave Hull (Arabica Records, 2007)
Selected concert appearances:
-The Kennedy Center--Washington, DC (2009)
-Durango Bluegrass Meltdown--Durango, Colorado (2009)
-West End Cultural Centre--Winnipeg, Manitoba (2008)
-FOAOTMAD Festival--Gainsborough, England (2008)
-The Birchmere--Alexandria, Virginia (2008, 2007)
-Brandywine Friends of Old-Time Music--Newark, Delaware (2007)
-Folk Music Society of New York--Brooklyn, New York (2007)
-Folklore Society of Greater Washington--Rockville, Maryland (2007)
-Appalachian String Band Music Festival--Clifftop, West Virginia (2006)
-Strathmore Hall--Rockville, Maryland (2006)
-FOOTMAD Fall Fling--Beckwith, West Virginia (2007, 2006, 2005, 2004)
Selected teaching appearances:
-American Banjo Camp--Fort Flagler, Washington (2009)
-Suwannee Banjo Camp--High Springs, Florida (2009)
-Midwest Banjo Camp--Olivet, Michigan (2009, 2008)
-Swannanoa Gathering--Asheville, North Carolina (2009, 2007)
-Augusta Heritage Center--Elkins, West Virginia (2007, 2006)
-Appalshop--Whitesburg, Kentucky (2006, 2005)
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