WINSTON MARSHALL’S DUELLING BANJOS

Since forming in 2007 London’s hugely successful Mumford & Sons have had No.1 albums on both sides of the Atlantic, won Brit Awards and earned Grammy nods, and they’ve become poster boys for the ‘neo-folk’ revival. Winston Marshall’s powerful five-string banjo playing has been a trademark on hit records like Sigh No More and Babel, and it’s there amid the more electronic textures of Wilder Mind and current album, Delta. Marshall has now teamed up with leading US banjo company Deering to produce two new models. The Winston Marshall Signature model is a high-end instrument aimed at similar, top-level professionals, and comes with a price tag to match. Then there’s the GOTR Goodtime Banjo, a more affordable model produced with the aim of encouraging more people to give the banjo a go. We caught up with Marshall to talk to him about these, the Mumfords, and to get his view on what TG readers might get out of this wonderful little instrument… Give us a little background on your association with Deering.

“We’ve been working closely with Deering for eight years now. They’re a hands-on family business and they get stuck into everything with us. Jamie Deering is the daughter of the founders,