Riley Baugus: On Making and Playing the Banjo

photo by Mike Melnyk

Riley Baugus grew up in a home filled with music. “I was raised on old-time music,” he says. Born and raised in Walkertown, North Carolina, Riley was surrounded by the music of the Appalachians. “My dad loved records, and when I was growing up, he had re-issues of field recordings of old-time musicians. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, many musicians were still living, and those who wanted to learn more about our Appalachian music would seek them out.”

The first instrument Riley played was a violin. “I had an opportunity to take violin in school when I was ten years old,” he recalls. “I thought I was going to learn to play the fiddle, but I was wrong.”

Riley saved his money and ordered a guitar from Sears and Roebuck. “I didn’t know how to play it but spent hours teaching myself.” Riley wanted a banjo that same year, but his dad said they couldn’t afford one. “He said we could try to build it.” They found instructions in the Foxfire 3 book. “There were different banjo ideas in the book. My dad brought home scraps of wood from work, and we got started. He laid the neck of the guitar on a piece of wood and traced it, then used a hacksaw to make the slots. We bought fret wire from a music store, and I hand-whittled the tuning pegs from a piece of maple stove wood I found on the porch. It had a solid wood head and back. Dad was an idea man, and the banjo turned out pretty good. It sounded like an electric guitar without an amp, but it was perfect for learning to play.”

Riley honed his skills with fiddler and neighbor Kirk Sutphin. They traveled around the area to visit with elder and traditional musicians in Grayson County, Virginia, and Surry County, North Carolina.

Soon, he began playing guitar and clawhammer banjo in bands and traveling around the area. But he decided to have a career outside of music. “I went into welding and did that for twenty years. I was a certified welder, fabricator, and blacksmith. When the owner of the shop died, I hung around for a while, but in 2003, I had an opportunity to sing on the soundtrack of Cold Mountain. I realized music was what I really wanted to do, so I left my toolbox behind and walked away.”

He got the Academy Award-winning Cold Mountain gig through fellow musician Dirk Powell. Not only did Riley sing on the soundtrack, but he also built the antebellum-style banjos that were used in the film. In addition to Dirk, Riley had many mentors on his musical journey, including fiddler Tommy Jarrell in Mount Airy and banjo player Dix Freeman. “I was 16 the first time I went to Tommy Jarrell’s house, and Alice Gerrard was there. It was amazing. I’ve also spent a lot of time with fiddler Wilson Douglass from West Virginia, Robert Sykes, Greg Hooven, and Benton Flippen.”

It wasn’t until he was older that Riley realized the importance of the old-time music he was playing. “Because I was from Appalachia, and that’s the music I grew up with, I suppose I thought everyone everywhere listened to it as well.” Only when he started traveling outside Appalachia did Riley realize how special the old-time music is. “The first time I went to Washington D.C. was to play old-time music at the Library of Congress.”

Riley has traveled all over the world to play. “Music has taken me to some incredible places.” When I caught up with him for this interview, he was packing to go to the Netherlands. “I just love to play music and tell good stories. This is music in the true rural tradition, played as it has always been played.”  

Over the years, Riley has played with several old-time string bands, including The Farmer's Daughters, The Konnarock Critters, The Red Hots, Backstep, and the Old Hollow Stringband. He currently plays with the Dirk Powell Band and Polecat Creek. Riley has played with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss on their Raising Sand album and with Willie Nelson. He is friends with banjo player Rhiannon Giddens, who grew up near Riley's home in Greensboro.

In 1995, Riley wanted a good banjo, so he ordered one from well-known banjo maker Kevin Enoch in Maryland. “I guess it was a good thing he was very backed up because I decided I’d make my own. A friend gave me some 4 x 4 boards – two walnut and one cherry – from pallets he found. I put them in a barn loft for about six months, then made a banjo.” Just like potato chips, Riley couldn’t stop at just one. “I made a few more, and by the end of 1995, I sold ten to 15 banjos.” Each banjo is made by hand. “I do all the work.”

Now, about 200 banjos are in, and Riley has taken a break from banjo-making. “I don’t have to make them, but I have to play the banjo. I never take orders, only requests, and honestly, if I started making banjos again today, it would take me three years to catch up on all the requests I have. I’m not a banjo factory. I make them because I enjoy it.” He still tinkers on banjos in his shop, but he doesn’t go in there every day. He doesn’t have time.

“I teach banjo three days a week online, and I teach two days a week for P.I.C.K. – Piedmont Instrumental Classes for Kids – a non-profit in Eden, North Carolina, with a mission to empower children through musical heritage.” Riley also teaches at numerous banjo, guitar, and fiddle music camps nationwide.

Riley has recorded three solo albums: Life of Riley, Long Steel Rail (Tim O’Brien produced), and Little Black Train’s a Comin’. He also sits in with other artists. Riley also acts. “I do theatre projects here and there, and I was in a short film by Tom Krueger, Deep on Hog Mountain, with Dirk Powell.”