Lorenzo Testa

I’m Lorenzo Testa, tenor banjo and mandolin player, songwriter and co-founder of Uncle Bard & The Dirty Bastards. My musical roots are in rock guitar, but years spent travelling between Italy and Ireland led me deep into Irish traditional music. Bringing those two worlds together has been the thread running through my work with the band since we started in 2007.

Since then, I’ve toured with the Dirty Bastards across Europe and North America, through more than a thousand shows and festival appearances. Along the way, we’ve shared bills with Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, The Dubliners and De Danann. Playing the Dublin Irish Festival in Ohio in 2019 remains a particular highlight: a long way from our beginnings in northern Italy, with the same passion for Irish music that brought us together.

Our records tell that story in different ways, from the folk-rock of Get The Folk Out! and Handmade! to The Men Beyond The Glass and the acoustic arrangements of The Cellar Tapes. In addition to playing banjo and mandolin, my work includes songwriting, arrangements and studio production. That’s the other side of the music you hear on stage.

I also have a background in sound engineering, recording and mixing, and continue to work as a session musician. For example, my collaborations outside the band include recording banjo for David Knopfler, co-founder of Dire Straits. I have also appeared on several covers of Irish Music Magazine.

In 2021, I also co-founded Gadan, where I perform with my banjo teacher and fellow musician Enda Scahill: co-founder of We Banjo 3, four-time All-Ireland champion and winner of the 2022 Steve Martin Banjo Prize. With Gadan, I’ve completed eight tours of the United States.