Singing partners Robert Plant and Alison Krauss will command most of the attention when they perform here Monday at Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay, where their concert sold out in minutes. But when it comes to instrumental interludes and solos, prepare to be dazzled by former San Diegan Stuart Duncan, who as a boy in the late 1970s was a consistent crowd-pleaser at the Julian Banjo, Fiddle, Mandolin & Guitar Contest.
Duncan excels on all of those instruments, which is why he's been featured on hundreds of albums and won two Grammy Awards with The Nashville Bluegrass Band, which he joined in 1985 when he was 20. His resumé includes work with David Grisman, John Prine, Shania Twain, Béla Fleck, Lyle Lovett, Lynyrd Skynyrd, James Taylor, The Chieftains, Emmylou Harris and Brad Paisley.
“Stuart is one of the very best violinists in the world, in any category of music,” said Krauss and Plant's musical director, T-Bone Burnett, who handpicked Duncan for their touring band. “He's also one of the great multi-instrumentalists. He can pick up anything and make it play music.
– GEORGE VARGA
