The All Day Breakfast Stringband collaborate frequently with West Virginia fiddler, banjo player and recording engineer Ben Townsend. Please visit our tour schedule to see our dates with Ben. For booking inquiries please contact us at alldaybreakfaststringband@gmail.com
Born and raised in Romney, West Virginia, multi instrumentalist, Ben Townsend has studied Appalachian traditional music extensively. With banjo mentors such as Riley Baugus and Ron Mullennex, and Fiddle mentors the likes Dave Bing and Earl White, Townsend has studied a vast variety of old-time traditions ranging from the archaic, haunting fiddle of his home to the Round Peak music of North Carolina and Virginia to the Bluegrass of East Kentucky and Ohio.
As a member of The Fox Hunt, Old Sledge, The Iron Leg Boys, The Hackensaw Boys, and now as a solo performer, Ben has traveled across the country and around the world spreading his unique take on West Virginia regional old-time music. He has shared the stage with acts varying from Ralph Stanley to the Henry Girls of County Donegal, Ireland to the Taiko drummers of Yamagata Prefecture, Japan.
Ben is also a devoted teacher of the music of his region and works both privately and as a featured teacher at music festivals and camps. He has been involved in the Augusta Heritage Festival in Elkins, West Virginia as a staff musician and teacher and has also worked as an instructor at The Allegheny Echoes Festival in Marlinton, West Virginia, Common Ground on the Hill at McDaniel College in Maryland and The Upper Potomac Fiddle Festival in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia just to name a few.
Currently Townsend is working on editing both a web video and podcast series based on footage collected on a recent Cycle Tour from Romney, West Virginia to Los Angeles, California. The series features interviews with traditional musicians and folk artists throughout Appalachia, across Texas, New Mexico and Arizona and is complimented by an Album recorded upon arrival in Santa Clarita, California which will be released as Deep End Session Vol. 3.
Watch the trailer and the four first webisodes from the 2 Guys Named Ben bicycle tour:
Selected Performance Links:
Old Christmas Morning with Joe Wack from Ben Townsend & Friends – Deep Sessions Vol.3
The Silver Dagger with Brian Vollmer on The Bluegrass Situation
Hang Me with The Fox Hunt and The Henry Girls on Gaelic TV Scotland
Audio Links:
Tri-State Duets – Dave Bing & Ben Townsend
Dave Bing and Ben Townsend on Mountain Stage
The Fox Hunt on Mountain Stage
Other Projects:
Ben Townsend has been involved in many other projects either as a performer, a producer or a sound engineer. These recordings are available to stream or download on the Questionable Records website.
For booking please contact alldaybreakfaststringband@gmail.com
All Day Breakfast Stringband 