RENOWNED five-string banjo player Leon Hunt has played alongside some of the world’s top musicians and this weekend is coming to Dorset with his own band.

After more than 25 years of playing almost every style of music, except the one usually associated with the banjo, the musician felt it was time to get back to playing some good old-fashioned bluegrass.

Hunt and long-time musical collaborator Jason Titley had been discussing the possibility of putting a bluegrass band together for a while, but it was the death of the original architect of the bluegrass banjo style, Earl Scruggs, in 2012, that gave them with the impetus to get the ball rolling.

Bass player and vocalist Ben Somers and mandolin-ist Joe Hymas joined superb bluegrass guitarist Jason Titley, and Leon Hunt on banjo to form The Leon Hunt n-Tet and return to Dorset on Friday following their memorable performance at last year’s Purbeck Folk Festival, to play homage to Scruggs with tracks from their debut album Farewell Blues.

Expect an evening of superb musicianship from this traditional bluegrass band. Catch that band at Toller Porcorum village hall near maideon Newton on February 7 (call 01300 320373) and Ibberton Hut near Blandford on February 8 (call 01258 817269).

Both gigs start at 7.30pm.