Bradford Harris

Bradford Harris (they/them) is a musician and luthier based in Harlan County, Kentucky. With help from their father, woodworker Steve Harris, and their family’s collection of Foxfire books, they began building banjos in the summer of 2020, and have finished more than twenty instruments in this short period.

After finding a cache of handmade instruments, tools, and notes left behind in the Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College woodshop by luthier Al Cornett, Bradford tracked down Cornett and introduced themselves. They now count Cornett among their mentors.

“The banjo plays a super huge role in Appalachian life,” Bradford says. “I would love to be able to show people how to build their own instruments and understand the history of the banjo, Appalachian banjo music, and how the banjo was stolen from Black culture through an Appalachian narrative. I love being able to have these conversations about the origins of the banjo and tell people how it got here and why it’s important to give credit to the people who brought it to this area.”

Bradford is also the lead guitarist and vocalist for the punk band L.I.P.S., representing the interconnectedness of old-time music with other genres in Southeastern Kentucky. They are actively involved in the STAY Project, connecting young people in Central Appalachia in support of building healthy communities.

With their Emerging Traditional Artists Program award, Bradford hopes to outfit the woodshop they are building in their backyard. They sell their instruments through their business, Harris Banjo Works.