Elle King Interview - "It doesn't have to be Bluegrass"

If you have been on the Hooks & Nuts page in the last week, you will know by now that Elle King plays banjo! Well, now we can also present an equally entertaining Elle King interview.

There is no question that Elle's raw talent and has taken her to great heights, including two Grammy nods for her platinum selling track, "Ex's & Oh's", as well as several prominent performances including The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Bonaroo and arguably the most important, the Deering Woodroom!

Following her performance, Elle took a few minutes to talk to us about all things banjo. Among other things, she shares her first experience with the instrument as well as her time playing on the Tonight Show with banjo phenom, Bennett Sullivan from the Broadway show, Bright Star.

But what impressed us most was her thoughts on how the banjo, contrary to popular belief doesn't have to be played in any pre-determined style.

"It doesn't have to be country. It doesn't have to be bluegrass. It's just an incredibly beautiful instrument that evokes a different type of feeling when you listen to it".

In other words, you can play it in whatever way works for you. It is just a beautiful instrument.

At Deering, we love bluegrass and we love clawhammer and everything in between. But even more than that, we love creativity. So kudos to anyone who has ever picked up a banjo and played it just to play it.

Enjoy!