The 2021 Steve Martin Banjo Prize was awarded Don Vappie, a New Orleans-based musician, and Alan Munde, a five-string banjo player and bluegrass musician. The prize recognizes “excellence across the spectrum of banjo styles” and includes an unrestricted check for $25,000.

Originally conceived of and launched in 2010 by comedy legend and banjo player Steve Martin, the Banjo Prize has put half a million dollars into the banjo community over the past decade. Past winners are some of the instrument’s brightest stars and include Rhiannon Giddens, Noam Pikelny, Jens Kruger and Kristin Scott Benson.

“I am so proud to have my name on the new, expanded banjo prize, with its wider scope and broader considerations,” said Martin. “The world of the banjo is expanding, and our goal is to bring it under one roof.”

Vappie, a Creole cultural expert, began playing at Preservation Hall in the late 1980s and for more than 25 years has appeared regularly with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. He has presented educational programs for Carnegie Hall, NPR and the Smithsonian Institution, recorded eight albums, and composed music for film and television, including the HBO series Treme and American Creole: New Orleans Reunion, a PBS documentary which he co-produced and in which he was also featured.

Munde launched his professional career in the late 1960s playing with bluegrass legend Jimmy Martin. He went on to join the Flying Burrito Brothers, and later The Country Gazette, whose members included fiddler Byron Berline. A master of both traditional and melodic styles with a discography of over 20 recordings, Munde has influenced generations of bluegrass banjo players, including progressive stylists Béla Fleck, Alison Brown and Noam Pikelny.

Martin introduce viewers the winners on the Deering Banjo Company’s livestream channel, Deering Live, on October 6, followed by a video featuring each winner along with interviews and live performances. Watch the entire virtual ceremony below (Vappie’s segment begins at 31:00).

At the end of 2019, having fulfilled its initial mission of giving ten awards, Martin and the board of the Banjo Prize determined that the award needed a new vision and infrastructure to move forward. The Freshgrass Foundation stepped in to co-fund the prize and provide the administrative back end to help carry the prize into its second decade. As a 501(c)(3) organiation, the Freshgrass Foundation’s mission is to preserve, support and create innovative grassroots music,which includes administration of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize. Current board members include Steve Martin, Alison Brown, Béla Fleck, Noam Pikelny, Anne Stringfield, Tony Trischka, Pete Wernick, Johnny Baier, Kristin Scott Benson, Roger Brown, Jaime Deering, Dom Flemons, Paul Schiminger, Chris Wadsworth and Garry West.

For more information, about Vappie, visit donvappie.com.