Kristin Scott Benson is the five-time International Bluegrass Music Association’s Banjo Player of the Year and recipient of the 2018 Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass.
Since 2008, she has been a member of Grammy-nominated and two-time IBMA Entertainers of the Year, The Grascals. Kristin is one of the nation's top bluegrass banjo players, exhibiting impeccable taste, timing, and tone. With an attentive ear to back-up, she is known and respected as a true team player among her peers.
Benson now plays a very special custom Deering banjo that came about after trying a number of different Deering banjos and is an amalgamation of all the different models in Deering's Golden Series; the Golden Wreath, Golden Era, and Rustic Wreath.
“It's like a canon and it does exactly what I need it to do - it punctuates and cuts through a bluegrass band. It isn't mushy and it doesn't get lost. That's my main issue with new banjos. It's like the sound just gets absorbed. They sound great by themselves, but if you need to function within a full-band context, you've got to have clarity and this one has it!”
Banjos Played
Custom Deering Golden Wreath with curly maple neck and speed finish neck
Watch Kristin Scott Benson talk about her banjo on Deering Live!