Seventeen-year-old Nikolai Margulis, banjoist, songwriter, and winner of the 2023 FreshGrass Banjo Award, was first captivated by the banjo at the age of five. 

Starting as a classic player, he converted to the three-finger style five years ago. Since then, he’s been making waves in the bluegrass and progressive banjo world, performing with renowned artists like Tony Trischka, Tray Wellington, Michael Cleveland, Missy Raines, and Béla Fleck, at national events including the Blue Ridge Banjo Concert in Brevard, NC, the opening concert of the Banjo Gathering in Baltimore, MD, Winter Wondergrass at Lake Tahoe, CA, and Lily P.’s in Cambridge, MA. For four years, Nikolai has played in the Kids Award Show Band at the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), performing for the Bluegrass Music Award nominees.

Nikolai has developed tablature for Béla Fleck, for Hal Leonard Publications, and for the Blue Ridge Banjo Camp (including an original arrangement for 100 banjos of the Star Wars Theme). He was cast in professional workshop productions of Obie Award winning playwright Sarah Gancher’s bluegrass musical setting of Eugene Onegin, performing it at TheatreSquared in Fayetteville, AR and at Dorset Theatre in Vermont.

He started the All Stars for All Y’all program, which raises money for IBMA’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. He gives volunteer performances at nonprofits throughout Central New Jersey, with a special emphasis on senior care facilities.

His installment in Tony Trischka’s ArtistWorks Interview Series appeared earlier this year. Nikolai is a Prucha artist.