Avi Avital plays the mandolin sitting center stage in a hard-back chair. He curls into himself, his face turned downward, and nestles the small stringed instrument on his lap. His intense ...

Dueling banjos made pitting player-against-player -- and their plucking, fast-finger-tipped mad skills -- a trend for a good long while. It's an admittedly entertaining trend, too, one that comes ...