Béla Fleck performs at Auditorium

Against the curtains of the IU Auditorium bathed in a blue light, Béla Fleck crossed the stage holding two banjos.

Crowd members stood up and cheered, but as he neared center stage, Fleck settled into the single black chair beneath the single spotlight, picked up one of his two banjos and immediately began playing.

He paused only to lean forward and mutter, “Hi” into his microphone.

On tour with his wife Abigail Washburn playing Solos and Duos, Fleck  is also a new father to son Juno, to whom he dedicated several songs.

After his first song, which was nearly 10 minutes long, Fleck spoke for the first time, thanking the audience as well as the Auditorium.

He also told the audience this type of performance is unusual for him.

“It’s really rare for me to play solo banjo,” Fleck said, looking down at the strings of his instrument. “I’m actually really nervous, and I’ll probably just keep on playing. Yeah, that’s just what I’ll do.”

Between each song, Fleck said a few words about the variety in his work, which changed between sets.

The next song Fleck played he wrote for Juno in the terminal of the Dallas airport while he awaited his plane to take him home to meet him for the first time.

Becky Ferber was just a child herself when she was introduced to Fleck.

“Like Bela, my dad is a musician,” Ferber said. “He made us watch Bela Fleck videos while we were eating dinner growing up. Last night I got him a signed CD, but he doesn’t know it yet.”

Follow reporter Janica Kaneshiro on Twitter @janicakaneshiro.