Banjo Babes is a grass roots collective of professional women banjo players organized by California banjo chanteuse Erin Inglish. The Banjo Babes release a calendar and album every year to celebrate the music of the women who play the instrument. The Dahl Arts Center in Rapid City hosted Banjo Babes Erin Inglish and Jami Lynn along with Mary Temple in February in the Bruce H. Lien Cultural Cafe.
Inglish conveys passion through every performance while she reflects about the state of the modern world. Her sassy and dynamic picking are complimented by her lush, and sometimes raw voice.
Temple is a true student of the banjo having studied in West Virginia. She received training from Dwight Diller, one of America's most prominent claw-hammer players and teachers, and Jeffrey P. Kramer of CloverLike Banjos in Wisconsin.
The multi-talented Jami Lynn has also come into her own as a claw-hammer player as she's worked with Temple, a fellow Black Hills musician. Lynn's release of "Cluck and Croon" with flat picker Dylan James was described as "Equal parts Carter Family, Billie Holiday and Tin Pan Alley," by Mat DiRiso at NoDepression.com.