Brad Kolodner is an acclaimed clawhammer banjo player, broadcaster, and community builder whose work bridges tradition and innovation. His latest release, Old Growth, is a solo album centered on the gourd banjo—focused, rhythmic, and rooted. The record highlights a more stripped-down, solo approach and marks a clear evolution in his sound. Songlines Magazine calls the album "A glorious listen. Kolodner’s talent as a banjo player is hypnotic. His clawhammer melodies are so lush you’ll feel you’re brushing through ferns and undergrowth on the Appalachian Trail." His earlier solo release, Chimney Swifts (2021), established him as a distinctive voice in the modern clawhammer banjo community.
Growing up in a musical family, Brad was immersed in folk and roots music from the very beginning. His father, Ken Kolodner, is a renowned hammered dulcimer player and fiddler, best known for his years touring with the folk trio Helicon. When Brad picked up the banjo at 17, there was no turning back. He quickly began collaborating with his father, exploring the rich texture of the hammered dulcimer and banjo. Performing as Ken & Brad Kolodner, they've formed a musical partnership that has grown into a full-fledged collaboration taking them across the country, onto festival stages, and into recording studios as innovators within the genre.
Brad performs with the chart-topping quartet Charm City Junction, a Baltimore-based acoustic roots group known for blending old-time, Irish, and bluegrass influences into a high-energy, forward-looking sound. Featuring fiddle, clawhammer banjo, button accordion, and upright bass, the band explores the deep musical crossroads in their hometown. Since forming in 2014, they’ve toured nationally, appeared at major festivals including the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, American Folk Festival, IBMA's World of Bluegrass and the Kennedy Center, and released Salt Box (2024), which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass chart.
Brad also performs in a duo with renowned fiddler George Jackson, exploring the edges of old-time fiddle and banjo music with a high-energy, groove-driven approach. Their sound moves easily from hard-driving dance tunes to inventive arrangements featuring harmony singing, twin fiddles, and double banjos. Their debut album Shady Lane (2024) debuted at #4 on the Billboard Bluegrass chart, with Bluegrass Today writing that the duo “makes this old-timey music sound new all over again.”
Alongside his performing career, Brad is a respected voice in Bluegrass and Folk radio. He hosts weekly programs on Bluegrass Country Radio and serves as a daily host on Folk Alley. He has been nominated four times for the IBMA Broadcaster of the Year Award and currently serves as Vice Chair on the board of the International Bluegrass Music Association.
A central figure in Baltimore’s roots music revival, Brad has helped build a thriving local scene by co-founding the Baltimore Old Time Jam, the Baltimore Square Dance, and the annual Baltimore Old-Time Music Festival at the Baltimore Museum of Industry.
When he’s not playing banjo, on the air, or organizing community events, Brad can be found rock climbing, playing squash, hiking, or tending to his vegetable garden at his Baltimore rowhouse.
Growing up in a musical family, Brad was immersed in folk and roots music from the very beginning. His father, Ken Kolodner, is a renowned hammered dulcimer player and fiddler, best known for his years touring with the folk trio Helicon. When Brad picked up the banjo at 17, there was no turning back. He quickly began collaborating with his father, exploring the rich texture of the hammered dulcimer and banjo. Performing as Ken & Brad Kolodner, they've formed a musical partnership that has grown into a full-fledged collaboration taking them across the country, onto festival stages, and into recording studios as innovators within the genre.
Brad performs with the chart-topping quartet Charm City Junction, a Baltimore-based acoustic roots group known for blending old-time, Irish, and bluegrass influences into a high-energy, forward-looking sound. Featuring fiddle, clawhammer banjo, button accordion, and upright bass, the band explores the deep musical crossroads in their hometown. Since forming in 2014, they’ve toured nationally, appeared at major festivals including the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, American Folk Festival, IBMA's World of Bluegrass and the Kennedy Center, and released Salt Box (2024), which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass chart.
Brad also performs in a duo with renowned fiddler George Jackson, exploring the edges of old-time fiddle and banjo music with a high-energy, groove-driven approach. Their sound moves easily from hard-driving dance tunes to inventive arrangements featuring harmony singing, twin fiddles, and double banjos. Their debut album Shady Lane (2024) debuted at #4 on the Billboard Bluegrass chart, with Bluegrass Today writing that the duo “makes this old-timey music sound new all over again.”
Alongside his performing career, Brad is a respected voice in Bluegrass and Folk radio. He hosts weekly programs on Bluegrass Country Radio and serves as a daily host on Folk Alley. He has been nominated four times for the IBMA Broadcaster of the Year Award and currently serves as Vice Chair on the board of the International Bluegrass Music Association.
A central figure in Baltimore’s roots music revival, Brad has helped build a thriving local scene by co-founding the Baltimore Old Time Jam, the Baltimore Square Dance, and the annual Baltimore Old-Time Music Festival at the Baltimore Museum of Industry.
When he’s not playing banjo, on the air, or organizing community events, Brad can be found rock climbing, playing squash, hiking, or tending to his vegetable garden at his Baltimore rowhouse.