Missouri/Kansas Border War Network

Listen

Part 1

Part 2

Justin Gerke talks about the roots of the banjo as an instrument in America evolving from African-American slaves and preserved in the mountain of Appalachia. Gerke plays in the claw hammer style on several songs. Music similar to this would have been familiar to those living on the Missouri/Kansas Border in the 1850s and 1860s.

About the Author

Justin Gerke is a native Missourian who grew up in Columbia and earned an undergraduate degree at the University of Missouri, Columbia. He is currently working on a graduate degree in molecular genetics at Washington University in St. Louis. Gerke is learning to play the old-time style banjo from Dave Landreth.