Gretchen Bowder
Banjo
Gretchen Bowder has been on the Boston music scene for the past 30 years. She’s been a member of numerous bands on electric bass, guitar, vocals, and most recently, mandolin - but she is known mostly for her work on the BANJO.
Gretchen plays 3-finger style and relishes everything from classic bluegrass to Newgrass, fiddle tunes, Western Swing, Bossa Nova, and jazz of the Great American Songbook. She gives private lessons and teaches at music camps.
You can hear Gretchen perform with a number of New England-area bands, including
Upcoming Shows
This section has become increasingly hard to keep up with! Click The Hazel Project website to see what we are up to, and if you don’ t find what you’re looking for there, send me a note by clicking the “Contact” button above to ask me where I’m playing in your area!
Teaching
A former middle and elementary school teacher, Gretchen’s teaching style is hands-on and rooted in developing and practicing actionable skills. Gretchen offers private lessons both in person and on Zoom. She also gives workshops at area music camps such as Banjo Camp North and the Ossipee Valley String Camp. Photo by Lynne Fountain
Contact Gretchen by clicking HERE
Videos
I had the great honor of playing with Alice Gerrard, Laurie Lewis, and Della Mae for a set at Grey Fox 2025. Thanks to Dean Loomis for filming this one.
I played Jobim’s Wave at Blue Ridge Banjo Camp 2023 with a masterful backing band: Casey Campbell, Casey Driessen, Bryan McDowell, and Mark Schatz. What a thrill!
Vernon Derrick wrote this tune while he was playing in Jimmy Martin's Sunny Mountain Boys. He named it after his hometown of Arab, Alabama. The town was so named after a county clerk incorrectly transcribed the name “Arad” into the records to incorporate the town.
Some fun at Blue Ridge Banjo Camp playing a snippet of John Reischman’s Little Pine Siskin with buddies Lluis Gómez and Jake Schepps.
Two Irish jigs: Fly in the Porter + Gan Ainm. I learned them from the playing of Dave Cory and Eliot Grasso on their album North by NorthWest. These are challenging! The fingering in the left hand is very specific, and there are some tricky passages for my right hand too.
Oh hey, I used to play bass in this super cool rock band called Inner Beauty back in the early 1990’s.
You can hear us here:
