Music

Opera Royalty Renée Fleming and Banjo Master Béla Fleck Unite on ‘The Fiddle and the Drum’

Jun 1, 2026

Two virtuosos from opposite ends of the musical map have found common ground in the hills of Appalachia. Renée Fleming, the five-time Grammy-winning soprano, and Béla Fleck, the 19-time Grammy-winning banjo master, have released their collaborative album ‘The Fiddle and the Drum’, out now via Thirty Tigers. Timed to the United States’ 250th anniversary, the record digs deep into America’s musical heritage across mountain songs, haunting ballads, and folk hymns, pairing Fleming’s expressive voice with Fleck’s banjo and a roster of bluegrass and country’s finest.

The roots of this run back years. Fleming and Fleck first floated the idea of an Appalachian album when they met, then let it sit until 2023, when they finally pulled it off the back burner and into the studio. “I was fascinated by the long, trans-Atlantic history of American and Appalachian folk music from an early age,” shares Fleming. “The themes of loss in songs like ‘Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies’ were perfect for my teen melancholy. I have always felt that the direct simplicity of this tradition is universal.”

Fleck, who produced the album, came to the music just as early. “I was thrilled to join Renée on a project to honor her love of folk music,” he adds. “Like her, I have been hearing that music since I was young, and the folk boom (or folk scare as some call it) put it front and center in New York City where I grew up. Pete Seeger and Joan Baez were superstars there. The music is deceptively simple, but there is enormous depth. And because the music is simple, it can be manipulated and expanded very naturally.”

Recorded in Nashville with Fleck producing, the album surrounds the duo with world-class players and a guest list to match. The pair announced the project in March with lead single “In The Pines,” featuring 11-time Grammy winner Dolly Parton, then followed last month with “My Epitaph,” featuring three-time Grammy winner Aoife O’Donovan. Vince Gill, Jerry Douglas, Sierra Hull, and Sarah Jarosz all turn up across the tracklist. The focus track, “The Scarlet Tide” with Vince Gill, lands as one of the record’s warmest moments.

The collaboration already hit the stage this month, with debut performances at Nashville’s historic Grand Ole Opry and Charleston’s Spoleto Festival, backed by Fleck’s all-star band My Bluegrass Heart and joined by Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan. More dates follow through the year, including marquee nights at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and Carnegie Hall, with album guests dropping in along the way.

The Fiddle and the Drum Tracklisting: