Sponsored message
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
NPR News

Abigail Washburn: Giving Up China For The Banjo

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.

Listen 7:51

Abigail Washburn's second album, City of Refuge, almost never came to be. She'd never much seen herself as a musician, and after she finished her schooling in Colorado, she all but committed herself to a life practicing law in China.

Washburn says that after a transformative six-month stay there, she returned home and packed her bags for a new life in Beijing.

But as luck would have it, her growing fascination with learning the banjo turned into a recording career — and changed her career path forever. Weekend All Things Considered guest host Linda Wertheimer recently spoke with Washburn about her strange career path, her evolution as a songwriter and her marriage to banjo legend Bela Fleck. You can hear the interview at the top of the page.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today

A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right