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MANCHESTER, Tenn. – At 28 years old, Illinois-native Abigail Washburn has accomplished what few people her age could dream of: not only has she mastered the art of playing a musical instrument (in her case, the banjo) but she has mastered a unique style of playing that instrument. Using a clawhammer style for strumming, where the player picks downward on the banjo rather than upward, she is able to infuse her music with a driving sense of rhythm often absent from the more melodic up-picking (or Scruggs) style of play.
 Abigail Washington and her Sparrow Quartet. Photo/AbigailWashburn.com
The Sparrow Quartet consists of Washburn, legendary banjo player Béla Fleck, fiddler Casey Driessen and cellist Ben Sollee. Washburn, who also was inspired by time spent in China as well as her love for traditional American music, blends the traditional songs of the West and East together seamlessly, and the tapestry of sound she weaves is unlike anything you've ever heard.
“I think people want to be freaked out at this festival.” – Abigail WashburnThe concert began with a Chinese incantation. Washburn explained this selection a day earlier, telling reporters at a press conference, “I think people want to be freaked out at this festival.” She delivered on that promise, singing in Chinese as the band’s instruments resonated with an Eastern flavor. Soon, Fleck began picking his banjo and blending the sounds of the two hemispheres together.
The band dove straight into the next song, a lively rendition of the Gospel hymn “His Eye is on the Sparrow.” Washburn's powerful voice was always audible over the frenetic jamming of the other musicians. Her vocal range allowed for unique melodic variations that always complimented the rollicking harmony (and sometimes challenged your ear to keep up with the changes).
Throughout the performance, Sollee switched between bowing and plucking his cello without pause, especially during the performance of “Bury Me With My Car” from his new album, “Learning To Bend.” He attacked the strings of his cello voraciously but, at the same time, never missed a note or a beat.
Driessen had his chance as well and rocked the audience with a stirring performance of “Working On a Building.” His speed and accuracy on the violin was almost surreal, and his passion punctuated the most energetic song of the show.
As far as the banjos, both Fleck and Washburn were at their best. The unique rhythms Washburn creates with her clawhammer playing style were neatly complimented by Fleck's more traditional three-finger method. Together, the two played off each other with vibrant intensity, all the while maintaining harmonic cohesion with Driessen and Sollee.
The concert was truly a treat when all four musicians played simultaneously.The concert was truly a treat when all four musicians played simultaneously. Their energy was infectious, as was evidenced by the constantly dancing and clapping crowd.
Case in point: standing in front of me was a man dancing wildly – arms flailing in every direction, feet moving at phenomenal speed, body swaying in a way that almost defied gravity. Being that this was Bonnaroo, I immediately concluded that this young man was under the influence of a plethora of hallucinogens and/or stimulants. But watching him throughout the show, I realized he wasn't embracing the music because he was on drugs: he was embracing the music because it was music.
I caught up with him after the show and asked him what moved him about the performance. “It's all about the roots music,” the Washburn fan, who identified himself as Gabriel Canada, said. “Once you get started dancing, there's no inhibitions.”
[AbigailWashburn.com, MySpace]
Branden Hart, a TheSequitur.com assistant managing editor, works as an editor in San Antonio.
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