Bio

I am a banjo player and composer rooted in bluegrass, jazz, and new acoustic music. I have toured with David Grisman, was a founding member of Old School Freight Train, and have recorded for Acoustic Disc, Adhyâropa Records, CMH Records, and the Fiddle Masters series. My debut solo album, Heart Lake, includes twelve original tunes with Duncan Wickel on fiddle and cello, Nick Falk on drums, and Dan Klingsberg on bass. My 2023 follow-up album, Hidden Animals, features the same musicians with the addition of Ella Jordan on fiddle. I am also an ethnomusicologist and Assistant Professor of Music and Traditional Music Program Coordinator at Warren Wilson College.

Reviews of Hidden Animals

“Hidden Animals is a beautiful hybrid creature…an especially urbane take on string band jazz” - Craig Havighurst, WMOT

“Very creative and highly inventive" - The Picky Fingers Banjo Podcast

“Absolutely incredible…a beautiful work of art” - The Mandolins and Beer Podcast

"Pushing musical boundaries" - Blue Ridge Outdoors

Reviews of Heart Lake

"It's a distinctive genre-jumping sound, simple but rarely straight-forward, one that allows each of the players to contribute in subtle yet suggestive ways...Subtlety and complexity coexist within the framework of each of these entries, offering a new musical experience for your ears. Kudos to Krakauer for providing such an intriguing set of songs, one that broadens the bluegrass boundaries while also piercing further parameters in the process." - Bluegrass Today

"The compositions are inventive and the playing is top-notch." - C-VILLE Weekly

"Ben is an extraordinarily creative force on the instrument, and this recording has his variety of musical influences on full display." - The Picky Fingers Banjo Podcast

Praise for Ben Krakauer

“Ben Krakauer is one of my favorite banjo players and favorite human beings. His banjo playing is incredibly swinging, grooving, and wildly inventive, but always grounded in the best of tradition. He’s got a fertile brain and I love talking to him about all things musical. Check him out right now!” - Matt Glaser, jazz violinist & Artistic Director of the American Roots Music Program at Berklee College of Music