Awesome Banjo

The Foggy Mountain Spaceship is known for performing popular songs on banjo. Their version of the Coldplay track Clocks seems incredibly well-suited to the twangy bluegrass instrument. They’re also the only musical group we know that plays prog rock on banjo.

Because the theme song from Super Mario Bros. never gets old, here’s a banjo cover version by the trio Foggy Mountain Spaceship. After bringing their twangy styling to World 1-1, they head down the warp pipe for a banjo version of the Underworld theme. But it’s not all bluegrass here, and things head down a psychedelic prog-rock path by the end.

Composer Lalo Schifrin’s theme from Mission Impossible is one of the most recognizeable TV and movie theme songs of all time. But we bet you’ve never heard it like this. Musician Jamie Dupuis found a way to preserve the urgency of the original while adding a dash of bluegrass on the 5-string banjo.

Recorded audio and radio programs from the early 20th century have a distinctive sound. Musician Sam Stafford got his hands on a vintage 1920s carbon microphone and shows how much of that sound was due to limitations in the era’s audio technology. When Sam gets out his banjolele and starts singing, it’s like he stepped into a time machine.

Musician Luca Stricagnoli trades his guitar for a banjo for this wonderfully unexpected cover version of Eminem and Dr. Dre’s track Forgot About Dre. Even without the acerbic lyrics, Luca’s pizzicato plucking cuts sharp as a knife.

A banjo is not typically associated with rock or heavy metal music. But it turns out that if you tune it to standard C and shred metal riffs on a 6-string banjo the same way you’d play an electric guitar, it’s possible to rock out on the country-bluegrass instrument. Guitarist Bernth shows us how it’s done.

If you poke around musician Eli Gilbert’s YouTube channel, you’ll quickly realize he’s a very talented banjo player. In between the numerous bluegrass and tutorial videos, we stumbled onto Eli’s warm and enveloping performance of The Beatles’ 1968 classic Blackbird, and had to share it because it’s just that good.

Musician Andy Thorn was enjoying a beautiful view and playing his banjo when a wild fox dropped in for a private concert. The little guy liked the music so much that he came back for more after he started to wander off. This wasn’t just a random occurrence either.

A banjo has a distinctive twang often played at a speedy tempo. Musician Charles Berthoud shows how a simliar playing style can be applied to a slap bass, giving bluegrass musicians a backup instrument in case they break a string on their banjo.

We’re used to musician Luca Stricagnoli performing fingerstyle arrangements of popular music on guitar. This time, Luca turned his attention to a classical composition – Mozart’s Serenade in G from Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and played it on a six-string banjo. We love how he used that little bow to make violin sounds.

Every time we hear the song Rainbow Connection from The Muppet Movie, it gives us the feels. While Jim Henson set the bar high with his original performance, 13-year-old puppeteer Kai and his dad Kelbe Schrank did the song and its creators proud during an event at Aubrey, Texas’ Fortunata Winery.

(PG-13: Language) With his dapper outfit and handlebar moustache, musician Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq. seems like quite the gentleman. But don’t let his looks fool you. He’s got the mouth of a truck driver, and he’s not taking any guff from anyone.

We like to imagine David Hasselhoff pulling up in a rusted out old jalopy (with an LED light bar on front) as the visual accompaniment to Banjo Guy Ollie’s awesomely bluegrassified cover of the familiar theme from Knight Rider.

The original Sonic the Hedgehog was loaded with some of the most memorable music in the history of video games, including the classic opening level Green Hill Zone. Banjo Guy Ollie turns in an equally memorable performance of the tune on banjo and mandolin.

Redditor rrizing’s girlfriend stumbled onto some video of her old middle school teacher, Steve Messenger, who turned in what might be the greatest performance of Snoop Dogg’s Gin and Juice ever made. His YouTube channel is packed with more perfect covers.

Actor, comedian, writer, and musician Steve Martin is joined by the talented members of the Steep Canyon Rangers for a captivating four-song set of country and bluegrass melodies in NPR’s amazing and personal concert venue. The tracks are all from The Long Awaited Album.