The documentary film Throw Down Your Heart, which premiered at the 2008 South by Southwest film festival, traced Bela Fleck’s travels to Africa in search of the banjo’s roots. In 2009 Fleck will be joined by a number of the musicians he encountered during his journey through Uganda, Tanzania, The Gambia, and Mali. Bela Fleck’s Africa Project will feature the banjo player on stage with a number of these players for a series of gigs that is expected to cross the country in the spring. Meanwhile, Fleck is in San Francisco this weekend for two performances with the Flecktones at Yoshi’s before the group travels to Hawaii for a series of dates. For a bit more on these endeavors, stay tuned for our feature interview with Fleck, which will appear shortly on the site.