Enda Scahill

Enda Scahill started playing music at an early age in rural Ireland. “Where I grew up in Galway, on the west coast, most Irish children played the tin whistle in school from age five or so,” he says. “When I was about nine years old, a wonderful music teacher called Bernie Geraghty came to my school. She asked if anyone would like to play the banjo, and my hand shot up into the air. I don’t know why I was instantly attracted to the banjo, and I don’t have a clear memory of where I first heard it. But I remember that day. I was the first-ever banjo player in our village.”

Bernie taught Enda for a few years before Cepta Byrne began teaching music at his school. “Cepta played accordion, but she was one of those beautiful humans who wove magic and joy into music and just inspired me to be creative, brave, and innovative in my approach to Irish music,” Enda says. “She didn’t believe in musical boundaries and thus, neither did I. Cepta is in her 70s now, and almost 40 years later, she’s one of my closest friends and confidants.”

In addition to his music education at school, Enda grew up in a musical family. His older brother, Adrian (who now has two master's and a doctorate in Irish music and lectures on Irish music at a national university), was a huge collector of Irish tunes, even as a young teenager. So he would sit for hours at the piano transcribing tunes he had recorded at local music (jam) sessions. I learned most of my tunes by osmosis from him. Hence, I am still terrible at remembering tune names.”

Enda admits he is not great at studying. “Sitting and concentrating has always been a struggle for me, so I soak up music by listening, experimenting, and lots of playing.” His biggest musical hero was Gerry O’Connor (the first Irish winner of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize, incidentally). “Gerry was so incredibly inventive in his playing, drawing from many different genres and pushing the technical boundaries of the instrument. As a teenager, his music drove me to be better, faster, cleaner, and even more musically experimental.”

A four-time All-Ireland banjo champion, Enda was presented with the prestigious Steve Martin Banjo Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass in 2022. “It came at a difficult time as We Banjo 3 was winding down, and my musical future suddenly looked very uncertain. I’m a firm believer in a higher power or “the universe,” and that felt like a giant cosmic reassuring hand on my back. 

He performed with numerous groups before founding “the hottest group in Irish music,” according to LiveIreland, We Banjo 3, with Martin Howley, David Howley, and his brother, Fergal Scahill. “We started We Banjo 3 in my kitchen in 2009 because I was inspired by a photograph I saw of Kris Kristofferson on stage with his head thrown backwards, laughing deeply. Irish music can be very serious, and I desperately wanted to have fun. I also wanted to be a little controversial and poke at the establishment. What better way than a band with three banjos? I was determined to stand out from the crowd. Every other band at that time was some Celtic-sounding word, and I knew we had to be very different. But it was only ever supposed to be a bit of fun on the side. Who knew so many people loved the banjo? People came out in droves. At first, we didn’t have enough music to fill a 90-minute show, so we told lots of jokes and stories to fill the gaps. And audiences loved the show! Looking back, we were running to catch up from 2012 to 2019. It took off like a juggernaut. I think we had reached a level of stability in 2020, having taken on management and all of the support systems that brings. But we know what happened in 2020.”

Over the years, Enda says he has been blessed to play with so many amazing musicians. “Even thinking about it blows my mind. I’ve traded solos with Bela Fleck, Alison Brown, and Jake Workman, and I recorded an album with Ricky Skaggs, Aubrey Haynie, and Bryan Sutton. I could go on and on. Sierra Hull, Sam Bush, Ron Block, even Billy Strings. Sometimes it doesn’t feel real.”

A career high happened a few years ago, when Enda stood on stage in the Sumida Triphony Concert Hall in Tokyo with two of the greatest Irish music bands of all time - Dervish and Altan. “There were 1800 people in the audience, clapping and smiling, and I realized that these bands were the late night, walking home from the session, headphones in (Walkman cassette tape era!) soundtrack to my youth. And here I was sharing a stage, music, laughter, and friendship with my heroes. That moment on stage, my heart swelled and I had tears in my eyes with gratitude for all the gnarly twists and turns of life that had led me there.”

Enda also shared another funny tale: “Way back when I didn’t know anything about bluegrass music, I inveigled myself (through pure brazenness) onto the mainstage at a big bluegrass festival in Ireland. I managed to nab a 10-minute slot between headliners. We went up, blitzed the set, scarpered off stage to a standing ovation, and ran back across the road to the pub where we were hired to play our own gig. What I never realized is that Earl Scruggs and his band were the headliners that night, and after their show, they came across the road and watched the rest of my gig.”

His inspiration changes all the time and many times. “Right now, Bela Fleck is a huge inspiration for this reason - he has constantly innovated, seemingly without any fear of limitations of genre or ability. So, when I’m feeling musically humdrum or technically stuck, I think of Bela. And it lifts me to try different runs or ornaments in the music. I’m probably unusually annoying in an Irish jam session context as I’m then wandering way off the melody of the tune at times.”

Martin Hayes, the Irish fiddler, has also been a huge inspiration. “He communicates something profoundly moving with deceptively simple playing. And a jazz pianist called Kenny Werner. He wrote the book Effortless Mastery. I watched a seminar of his a few years ago. He sits at the piano, and before he plays, he always says to himself, ‘This is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard anywhere in the universe,’ and then plays. Goose bumps every time.”

Now Enda spends time teaching. “I love teaching. I only do things that I’m wildly passionate about. Otherwise, I get wildly bored very quickly! Irish banjo can be a tough instrument. Chris Thile once said that the mandolin is an incredibly inefficient instrument. Well, tenor banjo is that by ten. So I formulated a method of playing that simplifies and describes in detail a pedagogy that works for the banjo. And I’m inspired and excited to help other people become better banjo players and all-round better musicians.”

Enda has a vast online community of students on every continent. “Over 700 currently, and I interact with many of them on a regular basis. Essentially, what I do now is create bespoke high-level, high-tech, multi-camera angle banjo and mandolin lessons. Every lesson is tailored to all levels of ability, from absolute beginner right up to advanced players. I focus on all the various aspects of technique, constantly challenging students to learn new ideas, ornamentation, harmony, and variations. It’s very immersive and comprehensive.”

But there is plenty of music in Enda’s fingers. “I’ve just released the best album I’ve ever made. Bearing in mind several Billboard #1 albums and many Album of the Year awards, I think that is saying something! The Dark Well is a collaboration with a Swedish harmonic player called Joel Andersson, who incidentally is the number one customizer of high-end harmonica in the world. The album title is a play on the phrase ‘Drinking water from an ancient well’ - the concept of the deep and sustaining heritage of Irish traditional music. However, the banjo and harmonica are new interlopers. We don’t fully belong in this ancient well. We need to dig our own well. It’s dark and sonorous. Full of texture, drones and gravely banjo sounds. It’s truly unique and different.”

Guests on the album include Grammy winner Francesco Turrisi, Ross Holmes from Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Andy Thorn from Leftover Salmon and many more. “I’m also touring for the last year with an Italian band called Gadan, who, if you can believe the irony, now have three banjos in the band. They play a high-energy blend of Irish and bluegrass music. It’s a ton of fun and I’m really enjoying playing with the guys.”