The Trust Behind the Music

I have had the pleasure of working in Artist Relations in some capacity for most of my 20-year career in musical instruments, and regardless of the artist, the banjo they use, the music they play, or where they are in their career, one thing has always mattered more than anything else.

Trust. 

For us, trust isn't something you can advertise. It's something you earn, one song, one performance, and one musician at a time.

It is sacred. 

In the world of music making, and in particular at Deering, the term "artist" covers a broad spectrum of incredible people. From bluegrass acts playing festivals, to punk rockers, to traditional Irish, to stadium-filling rock acts, to Grammy award-winning virtuoso solo players. Some play Goodtime banjos, while others have top-of-the-line custom models, yet the fundamental need of mutual trust remains the same.

And trust isn't limited to the relationship between the artist and us as a company (more on that later). It begins with the instrument itself. For many professional musicians, a banjo isn't simply something they enjoy playing—it's how they make a living. Every night they walk on stage, they need absolute confidence that the instrument they've chosen will perform exactly as expected. 

They have to trust that the banjo will perform as they need it to, night in and night out. 

Banjos on the Road

Banjos are constantly on the go. One night, it might find itself in hot, humid Florida, and the arid dryness of Arizona the next. It rides in the hold of an airplane, the back of a tour bus, or a trailer before being played on stage every night to thousands of ticket-buying fans who expect to experience quality. In short, an artist's banjo goes through a lot more than simply being played, and it has to stand up. They also have to feel good, sound good, and in many cases, look good, too!

When hard rock quartet Shinedown, released their banjo-infused single "Searchlight" in November 2025, Drew Foppe, (friend, amp builder, and renowned road tech for some of the biggest touring bands, including Fleetwood Mac, Shakira, Slipknot and Deftones to name a few) reached out to me looking for three banjos - one each for their A/B rigs and one for the studio. 

"My experience with Deering as a company and with their products has been nothing but extraordinary over the past decade plus," says Drew. "Right now, we have the Blackgrass series banjos out on tour with Shinedown. It’s not your stereotypical genre of music to need a banjo working with a rock band, but these banjos work extremely well in arenas on ridiculously loud stages, even with the band performing in front of the PA system when on the center thrust/walkway."

Drew goes on to say, "Whenever an artist asks me my thoughts on banjos, the first words out of my mouth are “Go with Deering!” Having a working relationship and the overall customer support from Deering is some of the best in the industry."

In the bluegrass world, multi-award winner Kristin Scott Benson has had her custom Deering Golden Wreath by her side for several years now and has been on more trips than we can count.

"I love my relationship with Deering," says Kristin. "The people are warm, hospitable, and accommodating. From the initial conversations, I could tell that they take pride in the instruments they build, and my time with them is always easy and comfortable."

For some artists, their first experience with Deering comes through our artist program as they move beyond an entry-level instrument or look for a dependable touring banjo to replace a cherished vintage instrument. Others have been playing Deering long before we ever met. Scott Avett, for example, played a Deering Sierra for years after trading in his Aria during the early days of touring with The Avett Brothers, long before our partnership officially began.

Signature Models & Custom Creations

Creating artist signature models and custom banjos is, candidly, really fun. We get to work firsthand with the artist to try to bring something to life that is uniquely theirs, and it can take many forms. As we look back to the earliest examples of our Artist Series, the Hartford model was born out of Greg Deering's ability to create what John was looking for in a tone ring, after others had missed the mark. This is highlighted in a very fun interview with John himself from 1989. 

Usually, the process is a true collaboration where the artist will have a great deal of input and normally will have certain criteria, be it the tone, the weight, certain tone woods or specific dimensions. Some are visual and have a clear vision for what they want the inlays to be. For example, inlays based on John Hartford's original drawings on the Julia Belle that we created with Alison Brown. Some models, like Tony Trischka's Golden Clipper allow us to test our ability to develop things that we would not have otherwise considered. 

"Deering is known as the great American banjo company for a reason", says Grammy Award winner Alison Brown, "They make outstanding instruments that you can count on in the studio and on the stage. And working with their team is like working with family. They make me even more proud to be a San Diego girl."

We have known Hank Smith of Hank Pattie & The Current for over 20 years, and like so many of our artists, we are blessed to be able to call him a friend. So when we created Hank's "Carolina Falls" banjo neck, the inlay pattern literally started life on the back of a napkin. 

"Deering Banjos welcomed me into their family in 2005," recalls Hank. "I trust them completely to produce superior instruments with the tone and responsiveness I need to compose, perform, and tour full time. We worked closely together to design and build my custom Carolina Falls banjo, an incredible instrument that feels and sounds the most like me of any I've ever played, bar-none."

The fun comes with trying to figure out how to get there and then finally conquering it to produce a banjo that the artist is so excited about. And then being able to see those instruments in their natural habitat, in the hands of the wonderful creators who bring so much joy to our lives through music. 

It is, in my opinion, the ultimate display of trust when an artist asks us to create something unique for them. 

Trust Beyond The Instrument

As I alluded earlier, the artist's trust in the instrument is paramount. But what about the trust between the people?

I am one of a handful of people at Deering who handles artist relations on any level, and collectively, we want them to know that we have their back as much as humanly possible.

And sometimes it's the small things that matter most. That replacement head that we shipped out to Taylor Swift to replace a broken one while on tour. Or our own Chad Kopotic giving up his free time to visit numerous artists, including our friends The Dead South, before shows to make sure their banjos are stage-ready.

The best artist relationships aren't built overnight. They're built over years of phone calls before tours, late-night texts, last-minute setups, new ideas, shared successes, and the occasional challenge. Somewhere along the way, business relationships become genuine friendships, and that's something we're incredibly grateful for.

In short, we're proud that so many remarkable musicians choose to trust our banjos. We never take that trust for granted, because we know it's earned the same way it's always been earned—one song, one performance, and one musician at a time.

Thank you to all of our artists who trust us each and every day!