Alex & Bb

What do you get if you put two banjos in the same room Alex and BB is one answer of many. By combining the 5-string banjo and the Irish tenor banjo, BB and Alex Borwick have created a sound that calls upon their musical backgrounds including Bluegrass, Celtic, Jazz, and even Classical. They have proven that it IS possible to play two banjos in tune with each other, and they have even produced a few original compositions, which are undoubtedly a result of their varied influences.

Alex is a multi-instrumentalist, and has come a long way since keyboard lessons at the ripe young age of 7 in Palmerston North. He has studied and performed jazz with some of New Zealand's foremost jazz luminaries, and is the past recipient of several national jazz awards for his trombone playing. Since first picking up the tenor banjo in 2007, Alex has immersed himself in Celtic music, and is a member of the critically-acclaimed quirky folk trio Forbidden Joe.

BB has been playing the banjo for the past six years studying at first with her local banjo tutor and later with some well-respected players in the USA. In 2007 she was invited to the US to join the bluegrass band Long Road Home and tour their summer festivals, she is also the winner of the 2006 Uncle Dave Macon banjo contest. Lately BB’s musical taste has been expanding; she has now finished her first year at the NZ School of Music, being the first accepted banjo player to study jazz.

And we promise, there will be NO banjo jokes.

• Lucy Lawless and Friends
• Tim Ripper Owens
• Dimmer - The Farewell Shows
• Inquisition (US), Vassafor, Anno Domini Mortus, Winter Deluge
• The Gunslinger's Ball