Can one learn to play bluegrass and old time music in downtown Toronto, and go on to a professional career as a banjo player and singer?
Frank Evans says “yes!,” and has the life experience to prove it. Known to many bluegrass lovers as the banjo man with Toronto’s Slocan Ramblers, where he also shines as a vocalist, Frank is in his fifth year making his living in Nashville. It’s been a bit of a strange journey, with plenty of roadblocks along the way, but, as they say, skill and perseverance will out in the long run. And they have for Evans.
So how does a city kid in the big metropolis find the banjo, and be drawn to its charms? Frank explains…
“I grew up in Toronto, right close to downtown. It’s a big city, with lots of music. My parents are both musicians, so I grew up around rehearsals and practicing. Mom was an opera singer, and dad a classical bassist, so learning an instrument didn’t seem like a stretch. My brother was playing guitar and I wanted to do something different, so it was banjo.
One day we saw a poster for something called Banjo Special – all sorts of banjos – and my folks asked if I wanted to go. There I met Chris Coole, and started talking lessons from him. I was 9-10 years old.”
Coole, of course is among the leading clawhammer banjoists of our time, and one half of the talent trust behind the Lonesome Ace Stringband. Chalk up chance occurrence as a big factor.
Another was experiencing the music live in its own environment at the Appalachian String Band Music Festival in Clifftop, WV.
“Chris recommended that I go to Clifftop. My dad is from Alabama and we would go visit his family down there, and stop at Clifftop going home. Chris also suggested that I go to competitions. I got second in my first, and then first the next year at Clifftop at 13 years old.
I remember that my brother and I would save up all year to buy CDs at Clifftop.”
Another important factor in achieving professional status in bluegrass and old time music is performing as early as possible during the learning process. Until quite recently there were few opportunities for young acoustic string players to interact with each other in educational settings, like there are for classical or jazz artists, so getting out there is also key.
Evans says they made it happen in the family.
“There were not a lot of young folks in Toronto playing bluegrass. When we were in our teens, my brother and I started playing at Graffiti’s, a tiny little dive bar in town. My brother played fiddle, my dad guitar, and we had a school friend who was learning old time guitar join us. It was an old time band, I played clawhammer, and I guess this was the time I started becoming curious about bluegrass, based on the requests we would get from the people at the bar.
We were called The Kit Gut String Band, and we all sang. We even made a record, Rebel Raid.
We played every week at Grafitti’s, and eventually me and my brother started our own group, Frank and Max Evans.”
The Slocan Ramblers got started towards the end of this period, again totally by chance meeting.
“I was doing that weekly gig with my brother, and working as a bike mechanic. One of my coworkers was a jazz guy in music school, and some of his friends were starting a bluegrass jam and asked if I wanted to come. After the first meeting, I ran right out and bought the cheapest Gold Tone banjo I could find. They were taking a very modern approach, while I was listening to old music. This would have been around 2010.
This became the Slocan Ramblers. We had a regular late night Tuesday gig at the Cloak & Dagger, an even divier bar in Toronto, and we played a bunch of standard bluegrass. So I went through the Scruggs book and learned all that stuff.
I was also listening to a lot of Jim Mills stuff, and learned all his solos.”
Soon the Ramblers were hitting the festival and concert circuit, finding more and more work in the US – even more than in Canada. An appearance at MerleFest in 2016 did a lot to open up the US market for the band, and they currently have four albums to their credit. All feature the mix of bluegrass and old time music that have characterized Frank’s approach to the banjo.
Like a good many people building a career around bluegrass music, Frank knew that he would probably have to crack Nashville to really make it. So he started testing the waters there about eight years ago.
“I had visited Nashville a number of times. I would take lessons when I came down and just hang out around town. I finally made the move with my girlfriend, Amy Alvie, in April of 2020. Everything was closed down just then, so I did a lot of remote teaching. But I started getting booked in town quickly, and by the time COVID opened up, Slocan started working again.
Amy is an amazing old time musician, and she went to Berklee, so she knew a bunch of folks in town. Her friend, George Jackson, had a room available so we stayed there. We made friends pretty quickly as well.”
A lot has happened for Evans since the move to Nashville. The Slocan Ramblers made their Grand Ole Opry debut last year, and Frank is now working as banjoist with Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, and picking up other gigs in Nashville. In 2021 he was interviewed by Banjo NewsLetter, which was the premier publication for lovers of all things banjo.
“I’m staying busy, playing with Bronwyn’s band, who is working a lot. I’ve also done some fill-in work with Jason Carter and Molly Tuttle, played with Old Crow at the Ryman, and played on the new King of the Hill soundtrack. Summer has been insane.”
These days Evans is working mostly with Nashville artists.
“Slocan is still going, but the guys have little kids, so we aren’t out on the road much.”
Thinking about finding success at the hub of country and bluegrass music caused a bit of reflection.
“Singing has definitely helped me out here. The level of singing in Nashville is off the charts.
Plus having parents as professional musicians was a huge benefit, since it was never a leap of faith wanting to become one myself. My folks knew that a career could be made in music.”
It looks like it was a lot of talent, a bit of chance, and some hard work and dedication that allowed Frank Evans to make it in Nashville.
These days he’s also recording a solo project, slowing chipping away at some original tunes, and some other great songs he has set aside.
It would seem that the next chapter is totally up to him.
