Jonas Friddle settled in Chicago in 2008 after a year of traveling around the world with his fiddle and banjo, learning the traditional sounds of every community he visited. Now, he spends much of his time teaching what he learned throughout his life to students. He has a passion for the open-backed banjo and a particular love for teaching kids. As a performer, Jonas composes new music and uses his claw-hammer style banjo for contemporary tunes. With his band, Jonas Friddle and The Majority, he has achieved multiple awards including “Song of the Year” from The John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Although his new music seeks to innovate, you can always hear tradition at it’s core: jonasfriddle.com. Jonas is seen here, focused as always, levitating his dear banjo out of the case for his stage practice.