Steve Martin Creates a $50K Bluegrass Prize

Described by its patron as a “mini-MacArthur,” the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass “will give $50,000 annually to ‘an individual or group for outstanding accomplishment in the field of five-string banjo or bluegrass music’.” The jury, which included (along with others) banjo legends Earl Scruggs and Béla Fleck, gave the inaugural prize to Norm Pikelny of the Punch Brothers.”