Evie Ladin grew up playing clawhammer banjo and clogging at music festivals all over the East Coast with her sister Abby. Her family home was a hostel for musicians and dancers traveling from the South during the Folk Music Revival of the early 70’s and 80’s. John Cohen of the New Lost City Ramblers first put a banjo in her hands at age 8, then she took lessons from Bob Carlin for several years. While she explores the depths of the instrument in support of her songwriting, rowdy jam sessions, square dances and fiddlers conventions of the Southeast US have had deep influence on her rich old time repertoire, and the development of her style. She is an adept teacher at any level, and enjoys teaching one-off themed workshops, and at music camps and festivals.
“Evie Ladin has one of my favorite right hands on the banjo. It propels the tune just right, and can ring like a bell, or a hammer!”
—Joe Newberry, Musician
“Evie Ladin is a masterful and intuitive teacher, as well as a brilliant musician. I enjoyed my clawhammer banjo course with Evie so much. I have a lot to work on now and I’m sure I’ll study with her again in the future!” —Jai Uttal, Musician
“Evie is an inspirational teacher and a motivated change agent” –Craig Evans, Old-Time Documentarian
“Evie is very knowledgeable, entertaining, warm and funny. She gets the message across and keeps the class moving forward. It’s a great joy to be around her and try to absorb her talent.” –Music Camp Student
More Testimonials Below!
Evie teaches three ways…
Private lessons
In Oakland or online, scheduled at a mutually agreeable time, weekday daytime preferred.
Contact me for rates and schedule.
Tuesday Nights – Six-Week Sessions – Pacific Time
6-7:15 Rank Beginner
7:30-8 Technique & Repertoire
Subscription to a huge library of Video Lessons + Tablature, with more added every month. More than 350 students all over the world are enjoying learning at their own pace.
First month is free with the code EvieLand.
“I’ve been enjoying your Peghead Nation clawhammer instruction (I’m new to it from Scruggs style), and I just wanted to thank you for doing such amazing tutorial videos. I’ve learned more from you already than from any other source. You are a gifted teacher, and obviously a gifted musician. I love your demeanor, your sense of humor, and the way you lay out the process of learning a tune.” – Tom, Seattle
Student Feedback:
“There is no shortage of online courses and youtube videos that can teach you the technical aspects of playing clawhammer banjo (and Evie teaches a great one on Peghead Nation!) but old time music is about togetherness and community. For me, and I think for many, taking the leap from playing by yourself to playing with others is scary and difficult. Lessons with Evie are a solution to this problem. She teaches how to learn by listening, how to hear the structure of a tune and learn it on the fly, how to incorporate rhythmic and melodic variations and improvisations into that structure…really how to play with others when you don’t know the tune yet. If you are looking to make the jump from playing on your couch with a youtube video to joining the old time community Evie can be your guide.” – Ben, Pennsylvaia
“I really enjoy the “response playing” in your lessons. It helps me get the tune. Great course! Thoroughly enjoying it and learning how to play.”
“I’ve been thoroughly enjoying your course for the past several months. In addition to learning the particular melodies for each tune, I like the way you manage to convey some basic and transportable techniques and riffs that can be applied to backing up and filling on other tunes, as well.”
“You’re a really fine teacher Evie. So appreciative of your lessons. Have attended a few banjo camps with really great teachers, professional musicians like you, but you really keep me inspired and playing for at least an hour most every day! Your lessons are clear, progressive, jam packed full of options for beginners and onward. And, I’m finally learning by ear and rarely if ever look at your well constructed tune tabs. I see now how learning a tune by ear from the get go makes it so much easier to pick up and remember. The only problem is sometimes those tunes stay in my head for days even when I’m not playing! And no disrespect to all the great guys I’ve had lessons with, but it is so nice to learn from such a strong, accomplished, clawhammer queen! Love the tunes you choose to teach too.”
“Evie Ladin is a “godsend” to the banjo playing instruction world. The overflow of bluegrass musicians are abundant to all. Yet an engaging practical instructor in clawhammer of this kind is a rarity. May her tribe increase!!!”