Banjo 1, Beginning Banjo: Pete Kosky grew up learning traditional music in the Kanawha Valley. He began playing guitar at age 11. His early musical influences were country singers Marty Robbins, Johnny Horton, Johnny Cash, Gordon Lightfoot, and especially WV’s David Morris. Pete’s interest in traditional ballads naturally led to songwriting, and he won 5th place at the 1st Annual Mountain Stage New Song Festival. He has taught workshops at the Appalachian String Band Music Festival and songwriting workshops for Allegheny Echoes. Pete has won several awards over the years. This class will happily progress very slowly.

Banjo 2, Intermediate: Stephen Casto was raised and resides in Pocahontas County WV where he learned banjo from the likes of Charlie Loudermilk, Junior Spencer and Tim Bing. His driving style is influenced by the Bing Brothers and the Hammons Family. A former student of Allegheny Echoes and a graduate of Glenville State College, he currently plays with the old time band, Mudhole Control. Stephen placed 4th in the Old Time Banjo contest at Galax in 2019.

Banjo 3, Intermediate/Advanced: Tim Bing originally from Barboursville WV, is widely recognized as one of the best old time banjo players anywhere. A nominee for the first class of inductees into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, Tim learned his craft first-hand from such legendary West Virginia greats as Sherman Hammons and Frank George. His driving yet intricate drop-thumb style has led to many banjo contest blue ribbons. He is a member of the Bing Brothers Band, and has performed across the U.S., Canada, Ireland Australia and Scotland. He can be heard on “Banjo Legacy” and “Just For The Sake Of It”.