Peter Peirce

From hootenannies on Long Island to festival stages across the country, Peter Peirce has followed the banjo down every back road and sonic alley it could travel.

Rooted in the folk revival of the 1960s, Peter got his start playing parties with his brother Dave, drawing inspiration from the likes of Dave Guard, Pete Seeger, Earl Scruggs, and Bill Keith. After graduating from Cornell, he made his way to Woodstock, where a chance meeting with pianist Dick Leschhorn led to the formation of Old Salt—a country-rock band that carried their original sound across New York State and beyond. From 1970 to 1983, Old Salt shared stages with legends: Springsteen, Dolly, Willie, The Byrds, and more.

In 1984, Peter landed in the Bay Area and began experimenting with new sonic territory. His Banjo Synthesizer project pushed the boundaries of what his beloved instrument could do—bending tradition into something more exploratory, more electric.

Which brings us to Rising Tide.

The Project

Rising Tide is not a departure—it’s a widening. A bigger, fuller, unexpected sound from an instrument often boxed into tradition. Here, Peter plugs in his electric banjo, adding subtle effects that expand the instrument's voice without erasing its roots.

With production and arrangement support from Sloth Mountain Studios’ own Brian Sagrafena and Jason Cirimele, the tracks on Rising Tide live in that golden space between analog grit and open sky. There’s groove and texture, atmosphere and edge.

This isn’t banjo as novelty—it’s banjo as evolution.