Easy Irish and Celtic Tunes for 5-String Banjo Book/CD Set
He is a pioneer of "Celtic fingerstyle" banjo. With Geoff Stelling in 1998, he co-designed the Stelling Tom Hanway SwallowTail banjo, a production model instrument used in bluegrass, folk and Celtic music around the globe. He learned to play the banjo in the 1980s, studying with Tony Trischka and Bill Keith, being inspired by the playing of Earl Scruggs, Don Reno, BÃ©la Fleck, Vassar Clements, Trischka and Keith. In the late 80s and early 90s he worked with the John Herald Band (former Greenbriar Boys), Blue Horizon, Burnt Toast, and with Kenny Kosek in the off-Broadway bluegrass musical Feast Here Tonight. Hanway has played on dozens of recordings on both sides of the Atlantic and has produced three recordings on the Joyous Gard Records label, teaming up for Bucket of Bees with Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, David Grier, Tony Trischka, Bill Keith and Vassar Clements in Nashville and New York City . He has performed onstage with Bill Monroe, Peter Rowan, Vassar Clements, Rick Danko and Levon Helm. In the 90s and early 2000s he was organizer with Kathleen Low Hanway (1960-2002) of the St. Mark s Bluegrass Festival and Big Apple Bluegrass & Folk Festival in New York City. In 1998, Mel Bay Publications published Hanway s seminal book and CD, Complete Book of Irish & Celtic 5-String Banjo. Bluegrass Unlimited wrote in January 1999: "What Earl Scruggs' book did for bluegrass banjo, Tom Hanway's book may well do for the 5-string in Irish and Celtic music, and will certainly become regarded as 'the bible' for any 5-string player with an interest in this joyous music."