Bela Fleck fields audience questions at an "Artistic Viewpoints" discussion prior to his Africa Project concert, March 3 in Eisenhower Auditorium. Photo Credit: Tina Hay
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Bela Fleck welcomes the Eisenhower Auditorium audience to his Africa Project concert, March 3. The concert featured Fleck, a 13-time Grammy Award winner, and a group of musicians he met in Africa. Photo Credit: Tina Hay
Tanzanian musicians Anania Ngoliga on thumb piano and John Kitime on guitar perform at Eisenhower Auditorium on March 3 as part of the Bela Fleck "Africa Project" tour. Photo Credit: Tina Hay
Bela Fleck, left, performs with Tanzania musicians Anania Ngoliga (thumb piano) and John Kitime (guitar) in Eisenhower Auditorium on March 3 as part of Fleck's "Africa Project" tour. Photo Credit: Tina Hay
Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni ba, a group of musicians from Bali, perform in Eisenhower Auditorium on March 3 as part of Bela Fleck's Africa Project tour. Photo Credit: Tina Hay
Bela Fleck, far right, jams with Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni ba, a group of musicians from Bali, in Eisenhower Auditorium on March 3 as part of his Africa Project tour. Photo Credit: Tina Hay
Bela Fleck jams with Bassekou Kouyate, a musician from Mali, in Eisenhower Auditorium March 3. Bassekou Kouyate is playing the ngoni, a West African instrument similar to the banjo. Photo Credit: Tina Hay
Bela Fleck, far right, jams with Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni ba, a group of musicians from Bali, in Eisenhower Auditorium on March 3 as part of his Africa Project tour. Photo Credit: Tina Hay
Back in the late 1990s, Penn Stater Magazine Editor Tina Hay was one of the hosts of the Folk Show on WPSU-FM, Penn State’s public radio station, and Bela Fleck was pushing the boundaries of bluegrass music as the banjo player for the decidedly niche group New Grass Revival.
She played a lot of Fleck's music on the show, but doubted that most people outside the bluegrass world knew who he was.
Fast-forward to the present. This year, Fleck won two Grammy Awards for a world-music recording, "Throw Down Your Heart," a collaboration with musicians from Africa. Fleck has brought some of those musicians to the U.S. to tour with him this winter, and last night he brought the show to Eisenhower Auditorium.
To read more from Tina Hay, check her Penn Stater blog.
