Steve Martin Banjo Prize recipient and 2024 American Banjo Museum Banjo Hall of Fame inductee Bill Evans has been involved with bluegrass music and the banjo for over forty-five years as a player, teacher, composer, writer and historian. Bill occupies a unique niche in the banjo world: he is celebrated worldwide for both his traditional and progressive bluegrass banjo styles and his innovative original compositions. He also enjoys a reputation as an outstanding instructor and music camp director as well as being an expert player of 19th and early 20 th century minstrel and classic banjo styles, informed by his training in American music history in at UC Berkeley. He has recorded four critically acclaimed solo recordings, including Things Are Simple and The Banjo in America, a DVD/CD set covering music from the 1780’s to the present day. He is the author of Banjo For Dummies and Bluegrass Banjo For Dummies. He directs his own music camps all across the United States and hosts five online instructional courses for Peghead Nation.

Bill counts his many teachers and mentors as crucial to his development as a musician. These include Ben Eldridge, Bill Keith, Tony Trischka, Alan Munde, Ron Thomason, Sonny Osborne and J. D. Crowe. Bill currently tours with his solo show The Banjo in America and performs with guitar legend Dan Crary and with the All-Star California Bluegrass Reunion. Over the years, Bill has performed with Dry Branch Fire Squad, David Grisman, Peter Rowan, Jody Stecher, Tony Trischka , Kathy Kallick & Alan Munde, among many others.

Bill has taught at over 200 banjo and bluegrass camps all over the world and he has helped thousands of people to find joy in the banjo through his books, online courses and videos, workshops and one-on-one lessons. He feels that his greatest accomplishment has been to bring people together through the banjo.

Here’s what people are saying about Bill Evans and his latest release “Things Are Simple:”

“Bill Evans is one of my absolute favorite banjo players. His touch is gorgeous and his tunes strike a beautiful balance between creativity and tradition. It’s an honor to call him a friend and mentor.” – Wes Corbett, Sam Bush Band

“Bill Evans is one of those figures whose name is almost synonymous with the American banjo. He’s not just an innovator (one fan described him as ‘the same thing to the banjo that Van Gogh was to color’), he’s also an instructor, student, author (Banjo For Dummies, among other titles) and historian of his chosen instrument. Evans’ new album, which was three years in the making, is not just a masterpiece but a celebration. These tunes – most of them instrumentals and most of them original – brim with a sense of joy and appreciation for the things, both large and small, that make a live worth living.” – Bob Allen, Bluegrass Unlimited