CHARLES WOOD
BANJO PLAYER
AWARDS
2007 Ossipee Valley Maine Banjo Champion
2006 and 1999 Winfield National Banjo Champion
2005 Rockygrass Banjo Champion
2004 Renofest SC State Banjo Champion
1998 Merlefest Banjo Champion
1992 Georgia State Banjo Champion
CDs
Somewhere Over The Banjo
Banjo Noel
Tour de Banjo
Halo Over The Banjo
Banjology
A piano player since age 5, Charles Wood switched his focus to the banjo after listening to Flatt and Scruggs and receiving a banjo for his 15th birthday. After learning every banjo tune note for note on Flatt and Scruggs' classic recording Foggy Mountain Banjo Charles began to study under renowned South Carolina veteran banjo player Al Osteen. At age 18 he began playing with ex-Bill Monroe sideman Curtis Blackwell and his band The Dixie Bluegrass Boys. With them he toured extensively throughout the eastern US performing at Bluegrass festivals. It was during this time that Charles began listening to a wide array of banjo players and other musicians as well. His style of playing encompasses musical genres from traditional Bluegrass to Classical. Charles maintains many banjo students in upstate South Carolina and western NC. Charles has won first place in such distinguished contests as the 2007 Osippee Valley Maine Contest, 2005 Rockygrass Banjo Contest in Lyons, Colorado, the 2004 SC Renofest State Banjo Contest, the 1998 Merlefest Banjo Contest in Wilkesboro, North Carolina and in 2006 and 1999 the prestigious Winfield National Banjo Contest in Winfield, Kansas.
Recent venues include The Late Show With David Letterman, A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, two tours in Austria and Germany with The Lonesome Road Band, teaching at the Munich Germany Banjo Camp in Oct '09 and various regional and national Bluegrass festivals. Charles was recently invited by the actor Steve Martin, an accomplished banjo player himself, to perform with him and Earl Scruggs, Pete Wernick, and Tony Ellis at the 2005 New Yorker Festival in New York City. With this group he made an appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman. Charles Wood currently performs with Asheville NC based band Nitrograss.
Charles has five cds entitled Somewhere Over The Banjo, a Christmas CD Banjo Noel, Tour de Banjo, Halo Over The Banjo, and Banjology . These CDs encompass many styles of playing and show the versatility of the 5-String banjo. Charles' future plans are to produce more CDs and expose banjo music to as many people as possible. Charles Wood captivates audiences and achieves what few banjo players today do- a purely unique, versatile, eclectic sound. He is a musician with both the personality and vitality to capture the attention and praise of even the most elite audience. With every performance he seizes the devotion of new fans and rises above the expectations of his old ones. He is a musician whose music will endure.
