It was a battle for the title of best banjo player.
Two banjo giants were willing to go head to head and duel it out. An epic showdown was about to take place.
Banjo player number one has been playing the banjo since the 1970s but pushed his banjo love to the side in favor of comedic acting. Banjo player number two started found his love for the banjo in the swamps of Florida before making it big in Hollywood. Steve Martin and Kermit the Frog are ready to duel!
Oh wait, they are dueling banjos not banjos dueling. Dueling banjos is a much more lighthearted event than actual duels.
Steve Martin and Kermit the Frog are two of the most friendly faces in the entertainment industry. Kermit the Frog has brought generations of children and adults happiness alongside his Muppets friends. Steve Martin has brought uncontrollable laughter to many through his time at Saturday Night Live and his many comedic films.
Now they are bringing joy through their shared loved of the banjo.
Kermit has a home field advantage as the two duel it out in his friendly Florida swamp.
Steve Martin starts the banjo duel but they quickly do not seem too impressed with the other’s playing. They start with friendly back and forth but Kermit decides to bust out his best playing instead of giving Steve a turn. Steve decides to get back at Kermit by playing over him.
The duel turns into a banjo duet, as they cannot help but team up and play together.
Steve Martin has always been an advocate for bluegrass music and banjo players.
Steve Martin might be more well known as an actor but he has kept the music from the banjo close to his heart. Steve Martin and his wife, Anne Stringfield, created the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. The winners are chosen from nine board members, all in the bluegrass and banjo world, and given a statue and $50,000 prize.
“…bluegrass is a much funkier form of music that is just not as, in quotes, cool, but the music I believe rivals any class of a specialized genre of music. It can be very sophisticated and emotional. It has a very rich history and can feature great storytelling. But it’s a genre that’s underrepresented in the wider culture,” Steve told Billboard.
It is only fitting that Steve finally got to play with another Hollywood man, or frog, that has always been open about his love for the banjo.
You will have to watch the duel to pick your winner from the banjo duel. Don’t end the video early because Kermit and Steve have some choice words for each other after they finish their performance.
Someone “missed” a note and there is some major finger pointing between the two.
Their duel might have turned collaborative midway but that was just the music taking over. Once the last note hits, it is back to dueling.
Watch Steve Martin and Kermit the Frog’s dueling banjos right below. Who do you think won?
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