"There's heartache in much of the music, even as it skips along at a toe-tapping pace. ... This is the kind of stuff that's supposed to last long enough to become old timey."

–Perry Crowe, Red Hook Review

Hilary Hawke grew up playing music in Clifton Park, NY and has been based in Brooklyn for the past eight years. She began playing banjo in 2003 after hearing recordings of Earl Scruggs, Pete Seeger and Bela Fleck while living in the Adirondack mountains of Potsdam, NY.

In college at the Crane School of Music, Hilary studied clarinet performance, and music education, as well as classical guitar and music therapy at the University of Georgia and Crane School. After buying a cheap banjo and teaching herself how to pick Old Joe Clark, and John Hardy she finally got some banjo guidance from Bob Altschuler.

In 2004 she moved to Brooklyn where she followed the teachings and playing of Tony Trischka, and was still deeply in love with the young Earl Scruggs. Hilary began performing in many bands in the city and eventually became interested in clawhammer and oldtime music of the Appalachian mountains, and music of the Carter Family.

Hilary has taught banjo at Jalopy Theatre in Brooklyn since 2009 and is nearing completion of her Master of Arts at Columbia University. Her major influences now are too many to list, and really are influenced by anyone making music that is near and dear to her heart. Some of her favorite banjo players (in no particular order) are Jim Mills, Riley Baugus, Tommy Jarrell, Mike Seeger, Dock Boggs, Tony Trischka, Bill Keith and Roscoe Holcomb.