Steve Lutke to play banjo music at winery

WARWICK — Banjo player Steve Lutke and his band will perform at the Warwick Valley Winery and Distillery as part of winery’s ongoing “uncorked and unplugged” music series on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 8 p.m. Lutke’s style varies and includes a lyrical banjo arrangement of Beethoven’s “Für Elise,” a version of “Bonnie Scotland” and bluegrass tunes. Lutke’s new CD, “Appalachian Uprising,” features original compositions, ranging from the ballad, “The Sky is Falling,” composed when Lutke learned of the Sept. 11, 2001 events; to the bluegrass “Spinner” and “Moon Dog.” The CD was released on the Ampersand Label. Lutke said he plays his banjo as if he were a painter putting colors on canvas, adding the banjo can convey so many emotions. He creates his music on a Gibson, which, he said, has a bucolic sound, and on Red Fox and Sunflower banjos handcrafted by Geoff Stellings. “When my band starts setting up to play, people see the banjo and think, ‘Oh no, more “Hee-Haw” music,’” said Lutke. “But when we start to play, everyone is stunned into silence. I’ve seen grown men sit on the floor in front of us listening with tears in their eyes.” Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by calling the winery at 258-4858.