Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda & Antonio Sánchez Announce BEATrio Debut Album & Tour Dates

BEATrio — banjo player Béla Fleck, harpist Edmar Castañeda and drummer Antonio Sánchez — announced their self-titled debut album, out May 16, and shared the lead single, “Archipelago.” The group also confirmed tour dates in the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Canada, Europe and the UK.

While the group formed in 2024, the band was forged during a run of shows at New York City’s storied Blue Note Jazz Club.

“Each night felt like an adventure,” Castañeda said, “and it was special to see the audience experience the music’s evolution.” “We were hanging on for dear life,” Fleck added. “Things were going right, things were going wrong — everything was happening.”

Before the Blue Note stand, the duo of Fleck and Castañeda wrote the material for BEATrio’s premiere record out of necessity.

“After playing a duo concert with Edmar, it became clear that we needed to write together, in order to accommodate the needs of harp and banjo,” Fleck said. “This is our first attempt—sometimes you get lucky, before you think too much about it!”

“I play the groove with my left hand with Antonio,” says Castañeda, “while at the same time I play melodies and harmonies with my right hand and with Béla — a very fun challenge that makes a unique and powerful trio.”

“Edmar has quite a bit of responsibility in this particular case,” Sánchez said, “because he functions as the harmony and the bass.” Castañeda is “the glue between the banjo and the drums,” Sánchez added.

“This project kind of reminds me of the early days of the Flecktones, when audiences would go, ‘How is this supposed to work?’” Béla said.

Listen to BEATrio lead single “Archipelago” below:

Fans will have a chance to see how it works as BEATrio is hitting the road around the world. BEATrio will kick off their tour with back-to-back performances in Minneapolis on March 24 and March 25.

From there, they will head to Knoxville on March 27 for a set at Big Ears Festival. The band will then travel west for two nights in San Francisco on March 29 and March 30. The tour resumes in May with a performance in Tarrytown (New York) on May 11, followed by a show in Lebanon (New Hampshire) on May 12.

BEATrio will then make stops in Princeton (New Jersey) on May 13 and Norfolk (Virginia) on May 14. The run continues in Charlotte (North Carolina) on May 15 before wrapping up in Bentonville (Arkansas) on May 16. A four-night run at Seattle’s Jazz Alley will wrap the initial U.S. portion of the tour.

BEATrio will then head over to Japan for a similar run at the Blue Note Tokyo ahead of a play at the South Korea Seoul Jazz Festival. Back in North America the band will perform at the Winnipeg Jazz Festival on June 17 followed by a show in Boulder, Colorado on June 19 ahead of two appearances at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.

It’s then off to Europe and the UK with stops in Romania, London, The Netherlands and Finland. BEATrio will wrap the globe trek back in the U.S. with a play at the Skaneateles Festival in Skaneateles, New York on August 1.

Tickets are on sale now. Scroll down for itinerary and ticket info for BEATrio’s tour.