The avant-garde banjo sylings of Tony Trischka inspired a whole generation of progressive bluegrass musicians; he was not only considered among the very best pickers, he was also one of the instrument's top teachers, and created numerous instructional books, teaching video tapes and cassettes.

A native of Syracuse, New York, Trischka's interest in banjo was sparked by the Kingston Trio's "Charlie and the MTA" in 1963. Two years later, he joined the Down City Ramblers, where he remained through 1971. That year, Trischka made his recording debut on 15 Bluegrass Instrumentals with the band Country Cooking; at the same time, he was also a member of Country Granola. In 1973, he began a two-year stint with Breakfast Special. Between 1974 and 1975, he recorded two solo albums, Bluegrass Light and Heartlands. After one more solo album in 1976, Banjoland, he went on to become musical leader for the Broadway show The Robber Bridegroom. Trischka toured with the show in 1978, the year he also played with the Monroe Doctrine.

Beginning in 1978, he also played with artists such as Peter Rowan, Richard Greene, and Stacy Phillips. In the early 1980s, he began recording with his new group Skyline, which recorded its first album in 1983. Subsequent albums included Robot Plane Flies over Arkansas (solo, 1983), Stranded in the Moonlight (with Skyline, 1984) and Hill Country (solo, 1985). In 1984, he performed in his first feature film, Foxfire. Three years later, he worked on the soundtrack for Driving Miss Daisy. Trischka produced the Belgian group Gold Rush's No More Angels in 1988. The following year, Skyline recorded its final album, Fire of Grace. He also recorded the theme song for Books on the Air, a popular National Public Radio Show, and continued his affiliation with the network by appearing on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, From Our Front Porch, and other radio shows. Trischka's solo recordings include 1993's World Turning, 1995's Glory Shone Around: A Christmas Collection and 1999's Bend. New Deal followed in 2003. The new studio album was a bluesy adaptation of bluegrass standards that featured, among other things, a vocal cameo by Loudon Wainwright. Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular, featuring an appearance by comedian Steve Martin, came out four years later.

Biography by: by Sandra Brennan

TONY TRISCHKA HAS PLAYED WITH:

The Boston Pops Orchestra

Barry Bostwick*

Sam Bush*

David Bromberg

William S. Burroughs*

Buddy Cage*

Larry Campbell*

Keith Carradine

Vassar Clements*

Ornette Coleman

John Denver*

Hazel Dickens*

Jerry Douglas*

Bill Evans (saxophonist with Miles Davis)*

Bela Fleck*

The Flecktones

John Goodman

Richard Greene*

Merv Griffin Orchestra

Nancy Griffith

David Grisman*

Thomas Hampson*

John Hartford

Levon Helm

Chris Hillman

Garth Hudson

Ferlin Huskey

David Johansen (aka Buster Poindexter)*

Jorma Kaukonen

Jeannie Kendall

Alison Krauss*

Malachy McCourt

Roger McGuinn

Steve Martin*

John Medeski

Natalie Merchant*

Edgar Meyer

Jane Monheit

Bill Monroe

National Radio Orchestra of Korea

Mark O’Connor*

Odetta

Charles Osgood*

Van Dyke Parks*

Tom Paxton

Robert Randolph

The Roche Sisters*

Peter Rowan*

Earl Scruggs*

Mike Seeger*

Pete Seeger*

Ricky Skaggs

Phoebe Snow

Bruce Springsteen

Ralph Stanley*

Tanya Tucker

Jay Ungar and Molly Mason*

Violent Femmes*

Loudon Wainwright*

Doc Watson

Waverly Consort*

The Whites*

Wichita Percussion Ensemble

Tom Wopat

*denotes recordings

Television Appearances

• Live at the Quick, with Bela Fleck, 2004-2006

• ABC “Views”, with Bela Fleck - Summer 1997

• “ABC World News Tonight” with Peter Jennings - Summer1996

• “CBS Sunday Morning” with Charles Osgood - feature story (including Bela Fleck), 1995

• “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” (PBS), 1992

• British Television Production of “Voice of America: History of the Banjo” , 1989

• CBS “Hallmark Hall of Fame” production of “Foxfire” with Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn and John Denver, 1987

• Ralph Emory’s “Frets” Awards Show, The Nashville Network, 1987

• Nashville Network’s “Fire on the Mountain,” 1986, 1984

• Merv Griffin Show, 1976

Performances

• Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular Tour - Currently touring with guitarist/vocalist michael daves, fiddler brittany haas, bassist skip ward & double banjo seat filled by noam pikelny, gordon stone, and others.

• Tony Trischka Band – Kennedy Center (2000), Seaside Jazz Festival (2002), plus tours throughout the United States, Canada, and Germany, 1997-present

• Solo tours throughout the United States and Korea, Japan, Finland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Croatia, 1986-present

• World Turning - Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC) 1997, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Winterhawk Bluegrass Festival, Black Mountain Folk Festival, and countless concerts and club dates, 1993-2002

• National Public Radio – “Next Big Thing”, 2005, “World Café”, 2004, 2001, “Morning Edition”, “Fresh Air”, Mountain Stage”, 2001, 1995 and 1994; The Connection (2001), “Prairie Home Companion”, 1996, 1982

• With Skyline - appearances in 40 states, five tours throughout Europe; two tours of Japan, 1981-Present

Performances With Others

• Duo performances with Bela Fleck - tours of U.S., and New Zealand, 1992-2006

• With John Modeskey and Robert Randolph, 2001

• Leftover Salmon, Flecktones, Vassar Clements, and Violent Femmes, 1999-2001

• Old and in the Way reunion at Rocky Grass Festival (CO), 1997

• Waverly Consort - 1998 Spring tour, NPR’s Performance Today, Summer 1996; Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), 1995.

• With Peter Rowan and Richard Greene - Telluride,CO, 1996, Japan and Hawaii, 1978

• Guest soloist with National Radio Orchestra of Korea, in Seoul: “The Slavery Documents”, 1991

• Guest soloist with Wichita Percussion Ensemble: “The Void Beneath the Coffee Table” a three movement banjo concerto composed by Paul Elwood for Tony Trischka, 1986

• “Foxfire” with Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, and Keith Carradine, Los Angeles and Denver, 1985-1986

• “The Robber Bridegroom” - Ford’s Theater, Washington, D.C., 1978; bus and truck tour, 1978; musical leader of Broadway production, 1976-1977

• With David Bromberg and Ferlin Husky - Avery Fisher Hall, NYC, 1973

Pickin in the Pines Festival 2026 @ Pepsi Amphitheater at Fort Tuthill Park

Performers