Kruger was the recipient of the Steve Martin award for banjo excellence. “Well, it was a tremendous honor and surprise. Steve Martin loves the instrument and whenever someone of his prominence shines a light on a type of music or art or literature, people take notice. I was the first non-U.S. banjo player to receive this prestigious award and I believe it gave players from all over the world more reason for hope that they could also make it in the US music world. Steve has become a friend and I appreciate him very much. His award really helped the image of the banjo and that really helps all,” he said.
On September 2, he and his band, Kruger Brothers, will be playing at Joe’s Pub in New York. “This is our second appearance at Joe’s Pub after the great reception we received earlier in the year. We may debut some new music, and of course, we always mix it up with some of our more well-known repertoire. Our own music is kind of classically-infused folk music complimented with a hand full of various songs from different genres we made our own. The combination of classical music elements and American traditional instruments seems to work really well for us. We feel comfortable in this unique fusion and our audiences seem to heart fully engage in our efforts. Joe’s Pub is special for every musician to perform. The fact that audiences in NY are so well educated makes the evenings so much more intimate and fun,” he said.
On his future plans, he said, “I received my 5th classical commission last year and am set to debut a new work called ‘The Roan Mountain Suite’ for string quartet and Kruger Brothers. The worldwide premiere of this piece will be held at The Paramount Center for the Arts in Bristol, Tennessee on October 15. We will also be on tour in the US and Europe with the Kruger Brothers trio. A commission piece we wrote for the Banff Center called ‘Spirit of the Rockies’.”
He added, “We are excited to bring an orchestra to Europe and play some great concert halls in our old country, and we have been invited to perform at The American Club in Brussels on America’s Election Night at a soiree hosted by three Ambassadors (to Brussels, the EU and NATO).”
This year, he is up for the 2016 IBMA award for “Banjo Player of the Year.” “It is just such an honor to know that the bluegrass world sees me as a part of them. We always have a ball at the IBMA award show and it is a great place to catch up with old and new friends,” he said.
Kruger Brothers will be performing at the Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival in New Jersey on September 3. “We’re really looking forward to playing the festival over Labor Day Weekend. We have played there once before but it has been a few years since.This is a well-established festival which was founded by Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley, so it is quite prestigious. The festival runs Sept. 2-4 and we play on the 3rd. There are nearly 20 or so top performers, so it will be an exciting weekend of varied acoustic music,” he said.
For his fans, he concluded, “I would like to just say, thank you all for making my American dream come true and for opening your hearts to my music.”
