Abigail Washburn

“I see the power of music to connect cultures. I see it when I stand on a stage at a bluegrass festival … and I bust out into a song in Chinese, and everybody's eyes just pop wide open.” - Abigail Washburn

Nettwerk Records' catalogue artist and TED Fellow, Abigail Washburn, headed to Long Beach, CA for the annual TED2012 Conference. Washburn joined a 2012 class of honorees that included a molecular biologist, a space archaeologist, a blue whale scientist, a DIY Neurologist and 20 other innovators recognized by the globally recognized and highly esteemed nonprofit devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading.” To watch, please visit HERE.

Washburn wanted to be a lawyer improving US-China relations -- until she picked up a banjo. She tells a moving story of the remarkable connections she's formed touring across the United States and China while playing that banjo and singing in Chinese.