BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – Next Stage Arts and Twilight Music present Tony Trischka’s Earl Jam, plus The Stockwell Brothers, as part of the 2025 Next Stage Bandwagon Summer Series, on Saturday, Aug. 9, at 6 p.m., at the Robertson Paper Company field in Bellows Falls, Vt. Trischka’s all-star band for his tribute to Earl Scruggs includes guitarist/vocalist Michael Daves, fiddler Alex Hargreaves, and bassist Jared Engel.
Trischka is widely regarded as the consummate banjo artist, and perhaps the most influential banjo player in the roots music world. For more than 50 years, his playing has inspired generations of bluegrass and acoustic musicians, showcasing the many voices he has brought to the instrument. Trischka began playing in New York City, in the early 1970s, with a peer group of extraordinary musicians who saw American roots music as a thriving, living language that could be expanded and combined with other influences and sensibilities, and he has pushed the boundaries of the banjo ever since.
For the Next Stage concert, Trischka will be honoring the music of Earl Scruggs, the pioneer of the three-finger banjo style and one of the most important musicians in bluegrass. Alongside his Earl Jam band, Trischka will trace Scruggs’ story from his childhood to his final years, and feature music from extremely rare recordings of jam sessions with Scruggs and John Hartford. Trischka transcribed Scruggs’ note-for-note solos from many of those sessions, and included the songs on his recently released album “Earl Jam: A Tribute to Earl Scruggs” which features world-class players such as Béla Fleck, Michael Cleveland, Sam Bush, Vince Gill, Del McCoury, and Molly Tuttle.
“Earl is my North Star, a lifelong pathway. And I’m not alone,” says Trischka, a banjo innovator and educator who has influenced everyone from Fleck to Steve Martin. “Through his music, this shy kid from Flint Hill, North Carolina, went on to enrich the lives of countless thousands. When I first heard 16 notes of Scruggs-style banjo at the age of 13, I put down my folk guitar and mercilessly pestered my parents to buy me a banjo. Once in my hands, that five-string became my obsession – and it has been for 60 years.”
Contemporary folk and bluegrass quartet The Stockwell Brothers will open the Bandwagon show. Bruce, Barry, Alan, and Kelly Stockwell’s music spans traditional and progressive styles, but their trademark acoustic sound features new singer-songwriter material recast with banjo, alternative rhythms, and three-part harmonies.
The Robertson Paper Company field is located at 21 Island Street Bellows Falls, Vt. Tickets are discounted in advance, and kids under 12 are free. For advance tickets and more information, visit www.nextstagearts.org. Next Stage will provide a beer, wine, and cocktail cash bar, and food by Smokin’ Bowls will be available. Bring lawn chairs or blankets for outdoor seating on the field. This performance is supported in part by AARP Vermont.