Bela Fleck and the Brooklyn Rider Wow San Angelo Audience

SAN ANGELO, TX — Classical banjo, bluegrass strings are words you don’t normally put together. But Bela Fleck and the Brooklyn Rider do it better than anyone.

Billed as perhaps the world’s premier banjo player, with 15 Grammy Awards, and having recorded with heavyweights such as Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, Randy Travis, The Oak Ridge Boys, and The Gatlin Brothers, it would be hard to argue that Bela Fleck isn’t the best.

Fleck has played in venues all over Texas, but on his first trip to San Angelo, Fleck commented on the “nice weather we were having.”

“Based on what I’m used to this [weather] isn’t so bad.”

Those who braved the arctic front to come to the show Monday night at the Murphey Performance Hall at City Hall in downtown San Angelo weren’t disappointed.

“I saw Bela Fleck and the Flecktones back in the 80s. He’s taken banjo playing to a whole new level since then,” said Tom Johns.

And in spite of a name that might conjure the image of Paul Revere or the 69ers Brooklyn bikers gang, Brooklyn Rider is a four man composite of orchestra level classical musicians.

Johnny Gandelsman and Colin Jacobsen on violin, Nicholas Cords on viola, and Michael Nicolas, cello, are the perfect quartet, and have a strong following of their own around the world.

“The five of us got together about 2 years ago to record. One stop on our reunion tour was San Angelo,” Fleck said.

Next stop: Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Here are the next performances for the San Angelo Performing Arts Coalition.