Hank, Pattie & the Current

Event Information

Bluegrass visionaries Hank Smith (banjo) and Pattie Hopkins Kinlaw’s (fiddle) innovative twist on traditional bluegrass music is a soulful brew flavored with classical, Motown, jazz, and pop influences. Hard-hitting bluegrass pickers who moonlight as symphonic classical musicians, Hank & Pattie have forged their unique sound by refreshingly embracing their myriad of musical influences to create a unique sound, true to themselves. Their overall musicianship, vocal harmonies, impassioned delivery and innovative arrangements captivate all generations of music lovers.

The band includes bass player Stevie Martinez, who also performs with the Asheville Symphony, and guitarist Billie Feather, who hold numerous degrees in guitar and engineering.


-Hank Smith teaches bluegrass banjo in the Music Department at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
-Pattie Hopkins Kinlaw received her bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance and Suzuki Pedagogue Certification from East Carolina University. She is also a member of the Long Bay Symphony, the New Carolina Sinfonia and holds a private studio in two cities in Eastern North Carolina.
-Billie Feather Has her bachelor's and master's degrees in music from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Currently the lecturer of Commercial Guitar at UNC Greensboro as part of their Popular Music and Technology Program.
-Steven Martinez is a lecturer of music at Coastal Carolina University in bass & piano performance, ear training & aural theory, and the director of the CCU String Ensemble and Rock/Pop performance bands.