Think the banjo is all about twang? Think again, and check out award-winning Canadian banjo player Jayme Stone at Kirkland Performance Center (KPC) on Friday, Aug. 10.

Besides expanding musical horizons, the concert supports KPC in their mission to bring quality, affordable music and theater to the Eastside.

Stone makes music inspired by folk traditions from around the world, including Europe, Africa, South America, and Appalachia.

His inspirations are eclectic: Japanese poetry, Brazilian literature, instruments he found while traveling in remote African villages. He celebrates the banjoʼs long role in the worldʼs music, turning historical connections into compelling tunes.

His latest album, Room of Wonders, explores music from Norway, Sweden, Bulgaria, Brazil, Italy, and North America. It includes a Moorish sword-fighting dance and a movement from Bachʼs French Suite.

Stone has won two Juno Awards, which are like the Canadian Grammys, including World Music Album of the Year in 2009 for Africa to Appalachia, with Malian musician Mansa Sissoko.

Like banjo legend Béla Fleck, with whom Stone has studied, Stone traveled to Africa to learn about the banjo’s roots and to discover music that may not have made it across the ocean on slave ships in the 1600ʼs.

Stone will be performing with three other musicians who play woodwinds, fiddle and bass. Tickets are $15.

Jayme Stone will also perform at Marina Park on Aug. 9.