Banjo players Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn met at a square dance over 10 years ago and began playing music together ever since, touring the globe performing with musicians such as Chick Corea, Chris Thile and Wu Fei. Echo in the Valley is the follow-up to their acclaimed, self-titled debut that earned the duo a 2016 Grammy for Best Folk Album. This time around, their mission was to take their double-banjo combination of three-finger and clawhammer (rhythmic strumming) styles to the next level. All of the musical sounds were created by them, and the only instruments used were banjos (they have seven between them, ranging from a ukulele to an upright bass banjo). Echo in the Valley connects us to our past through wild re-imaginings of traditional Appalachian tunes, with original songs inspired by a man who ferried Syrian refugees to safety and by Native American voices lamenting a distancing from nature.