Pictured left are the members of the youth band, the St. Louis BandJos. They performed at the Salvation Army Citadel on Union road in South County in November 2008. This was only their third public performance and they acted like professionals. These 8 kids ages 8 to 12 played 11 songs and made the transitions from banjo to vocal to other instruments as smoothly as any adult band.

The Band performed before an audience of over 300 at the Friday night show in Peoria. This was for the Fretted Instrument Guild of America, also known as FIGA. These eleven young people were outstanding, made their directors proud and brought the audience to their feet for a standing ovation!

For more information, click on this link.  FIGA CONVENTION

The photo to the right is from their Shakey Night performance at the Moolah Shrine Center in October 2008. They played during the St. Louis Banjo Club break and wowed the audience.

The photo to the left is of one of three performances at the Kirkwood Farmer’s Market in the summer of 2009.

To the right, you will see 8 members of the band after a wonderful performance on April 22, 2010 for the St. Louis Banjo Club at Concordia Turner Hall. After they performed, the kids sat in with the big dudes of the Club.

The St. Louis BandJos were given a great opportunity to perform at the Highway 61 Roadhouse in Webster Groves. This restaurant and music venue offered their stage on May 20, 2010 and the band loved it! They packed the place. Click here for more photos.

On January 28, 2010, the St. Louis BandJos celebrated their 75th rehearsal. These 10 young people have demonstrated to their leaders how much they love the music of the four string banjo. Their buttons commemorate the occasion. Adults pictured r-l: Ginny Luetje, Director, with assistants Don Dempsey, Joe Feager and Don Luetje.

FIGA 2010 (July 21-24) was held outside of Chicago and eleven of our twelve members were able to be there to perform on stage at the Friday night program for an appreciative audience. They had a great time at a wonderful venue.

To the left is the band posing after having received a CD called “Pizza Party”, given to them by banjoist and supporter, Mr. Rob Wright.

The bottom photo shows the kids in their yellow “Kabaam” shirts. They joined 50 others and learned chords and tunes for a fun performance. This activity also helped increase their bonding with other young people from Texas as the “BandJos” discovered new friends with a common interest, making great music.

To see more photos, click here

The STL BandJos were invited to perform on Paul Stark’s Saturday morning program called “Musical Merry-Go-Round”. This weekly radio show has musical guests and we were featured on November 14, 2009. For more photos, information and the actual audio recording, go to: KDHX Performance.

Peyton and Blake went to Boston in June 2011 and performed on that stage as part of the “Underage Jivers” group. They are in the middle with Jesse Rock from New York on the left and Nathan Hanna from Texas on the right. These four also played outside at the Legacy Mall near the hotel and a Borders Bookstore in the same Mall.

Performing for audiences is a reason for having a banjo band. More importantly is the self confidence that comes from working hard to learn music, improving skills and offering that ability to an appreciative audience.

The photo to the left shows C.J., Casey, Clayton and David on the FIGA stage in Oklahoma City on July 15, 2011. They played before an audience of more than 200 and made their directors very proud of their accomplishments.

These youngsters are enjoying playing the four string banjo and are doing it well considering this is a 3-year old band.

Back at the Roadhouse in October 2011, these band members played some very difficult numbers like “Dueling Banjos” and “When You and I were Young Maggie” coupled with the “blues” version. Director Luetje keeps raising the bar and giving them more difficult tunes to play.

Eleven members performed at the 2012 All Frets Convention, held in St. Louis. They were outstanding!!!

There are now 13 members in the band and they performed at the Roadhouse two more times. On March 15th and again on April 19th, 2012. Each time they play, the songs keep getting more difficult and their Directors Ginny Luetje, Don Dempsey and Joe Feager take great pride in their desire to tackle complex musical arrangements.

The kids returned to the Webster Groves Farmer’s Market in September 2013, learning how difficult it can be to play outside.

Their last gig for the year was at the Kirkwood Station Restaurant in October. Great acoustics and a fantastic performance by these talented youngsters.

December 12th found our kids listening intently to Mr. Kurt Abell who came from California to give them some tips and show them other ways to make a banjo have a different sound and tempo.

They were attentive and thoroughly enjoyed his presentation. Kurt also noted how impressed he was with their progress and their sound.

Photos are of that visit.

In 2014, the BandJos performed at the Kirkwood Station Restaurant, The Webster Groves Farmer’s Market, a private party for 120 residents of Laclede Groves Retirement community, The Cliff Cave Library with the St. Louis Banjo Club and back again at the Kirkwood Station Restaurant. Here are some photos of those events.