Steve Martin And The Steep Canyon Rangers

One problematic thread running through Steve Martin’s decades-long career is that he’s always hard to pin down, but almost always expected to be funny—even when he’s detoured into serious acting roles and writing plays. When Martin decided recently to make a serious go out of banjo-playing, it really shouldn’t have shocked anyone: He used to either drag it out during his act or have it strapped on throughout, even when he wasn’t singing. According to Martin’s onstage shtick, he met his new backing band The Steep Canyon Rangers at a party, and their lively performances together certainly carry on in that spirit. He’s set to release Rare Bird Alert, his second album of original songs, but Martin is always best experienced live—regardless of whether he’s cracking jokes.

Updated 03/02/2011