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Genre
clawhammer banjo
Parent Genre: Folk/Acoustic

Clawhammer banjo music is a traditional style of playing the banjo that involves striking the strings with the back of the fingernails or a pick held between the thumb and index finger. It is often associated with old-time Appalachian music and has a distinctive rhythmic drive and percussive sound. This style of banjo playing has experienced a resurgence in recent years, with many contemporary musicians incorporating it into their music. Some of the leading practitioners of clawhammer banjo include musicians who are known for their innovative and boundary-pushing approaches to the instrument.


Top artists of clawhammer banjo genre

Abigail Washburn
Jake Blount
Adam Hurt
Mary Z. Cox
Cathy Fink
Chris Coole
Wade Ward
Bob Carlin
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clawhammer banjo music timeline

Explore clawhammer banjo history by listening to songs from every decade. Click on the decade to view songs.

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s

Similar Genres to clawhammer banjo

Discover more related genres to clawhammer banjo genre. This list is ordered by similarity from left to right.

old-time appalachian folk string band banjo old-time fiddle modern old-time progressive bluegrass bluegrass traditional folk instrumental bluegrass vintage country folk kentucky mountain folk mandolin folk north carolina roots new americana traditional blues turkish alternative rock canadian americana american folk revival
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clawhammer banjo playlist created by Chosic

Enjoy this playlist of popular clawhammer banjo music. We made this playlist using an algorithm created by our team.

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List of clawhammer banjo artists

Here is a list of clawhammer banjo artists on Spotify, ranked based on popularity, who exemplifies the clawhammer banjo genre. You can find out what clawhammer banjo genre sounds like where you can preview artists or sort them the way you want, just click the headers to sort.

#namePopularity instrumentalnessdanceabilityenergyacousticnessHappinesstempofollowers
1
Abigail Washburn
32 81 44 52 97 96 130 22655
2
Jake Blount
30 67 62 59 82 87 108 11014
3
Adam Hurt
22 93 49 26 99 89 124 3220
4
Mary Z. Cox
21 88 55 41 93 90 118 1482
5
Cathy Fink
20 78 54 20 94 97 115 837
6
Chris Coole
20 88 56 37 95 73 100 1611
7
Wade Ward
19 91 59 46 98 92 132 1891
8
Bob Carlin
17 0 0 0 0 0 0 1548
9
Clarence Ashley
16 0 53 37 99 71 140 4473
10
Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves
16 50 48 58 73 55 129 2047
11
Özgün Semerci
16 0 0 0 0 0 0 3605
12
Gaither Carlton
14 89 61 38 90 96 124 770
13
Fred Cockerham
13 77 56 27 99 59 133 1033
14
Dan Levenson
10 79 58 22 96 91 121 980
15
David Johnson
10 97 47 59 78 96 133 748
16
Kyle Creed
10 92 46 43 98 98 124 607
17
Rob Stenson
9 0 0 0 0 0 0 1200
18
Sidna Myers
8 0 0 0 0 0 0 425
19
Brad Leftwich and the Hogwire Stringband
7 0 70 55 91 94 125 1084
20
John Balch with Jack Pearson
7 72 58 41 93 79 143 111
21
Dwight Diller
6 0 0 0 0 0 0 522
22
John Balch with Jim Wood
6 0 0 0 0 0 0 82
23
Matokie Slaughter
5 95 65 56 76 98 136 520
24
Bobby Langdon
5 87 50 55 94 84 133 178
25
Hunter Robertson
5 91 61 19 97 76 109 81
26
Joel Mabus
4 0 0 0 0 0 0 266
27
Walt Koken
4 0 0 0 0 0 0 870
28
Oscar Wright
4 62 50 38 98 85 126 202
29
Ken Perlman
3 95 69 37 84 85 102 346
30
Boiled Buzzards
3 10 63 38 90 77 122 467
31
Evie Ladin
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 443
32
Glen Smith
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 280
33
Ryan Thomson
3 86 55 55 95 69 133 85
34
Willard Watson
2 88 58 29 99 76 124 175
35
Jane Rothfield
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 117
36
George Stoneman
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 351
37
Kirk Sutphin & Riley Baugus
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 181
38
Fabrizio Bezzini
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 100
39
Mark Johnson & Emory Lester
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 311
40
Lily May Ledford
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 446
41
Charlie Lowe
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 93
42
John Balch
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 55
43
Casey Joe Abair & Hunter Robertson
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
44
Lee Sexton
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 39
45
Howard Bursen
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 48