Béla Fleck in Northampton

Béla Fleck is an American banjoist and composer, born in New York City in 1958, who plays bluegrass, jazz and classical music. He became known through New Grass Revival and as the leader of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones; his major recordings include Flight of the Cosmic Hippo and Perpetual Motion. Béla Fleck and the Flecktones were formed in 1988 and made an early televised appearance on the PBS series Lonesome Pine Specials before becoming a long-running touring ensemble. His duo partnership with Chick Corea later produced concert tours connected to The Enchantment and Two. For the My Bluegrass Heart tour in 2021, he led an acoustic ensemble whose players included Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas and Sierra Hull. Although he has long been based in Nashville, he has traveled well beyond the city to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado.