The Fairfield Banjo Company is the culmination of over 20 years of experience, collaboration and experimentation by two of the banjo world’s most prominent figures.

Phil Davidson is a master luthier by anyone’s standards. His instruments can be found in the hands of some of the world’s finest musicians. Phil began his career building custom banjos (he’s even responsible for Scott Vestal’s very first ‘Stealth’) but has since diversified into the world of mandolins, guitars and more recently Ukuleles (of all sizes).

Leon Hunt has played alongside some of the biggest names in Bluegrass and Irish music. Leon’s 2004 debut solo album, Miles Apart, featured a ‘who’s who’ of the traditional American and Irish scenes, receiving critical acclaim worldwide. Since then Leon has been involved in numerous recordings and live performances with the likes of Kate Rusby, Darrell Scott, Flook, Mike Marshall, The Royal Shakespeare Company, to name a few.

John Whelan, a banjo player and successful entrepreneur (no these things aren’t mutually exclusive) saw an opportunity in the longstanding working relationship Phil and Leon have.

“Phil often talks about how picky, opinionated and a general pain in the A** Leon is with regard to banjo design, construction and setup. Over the years they’ve clearly explored a huge array of banjo related possibilities and ideas together. Both Leon and Phil, several small forests later, are now deservedly very pleased with the tone and playability they’ve arrived at. It was such an obvious step, to convert all this experience into the (short-run) production model we now have.