Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers | Courtesy ID

Onstage banter is a big part of bluegrass music tradition. Some of it is corn pone. Some of it is downright funny. Some of it is just awful. Steep Canyon Rangers used to do a lot of it — until the band started touring with comedian-turned-actor-turned-Renaissance-man Steve Martin. Martin, a serious banjo player and songwriter, can still crack up crowds from stages.

“We used to try to be funny in between songs and have jokes,” Steep Canyon Rangers lead singer and guitarist Woody Platt, 35, said. “And after working with Steve and seeing how you do it correctly and how you can really be funny in a unique way, we’ve gone out on our tours and just kind of backed off all the jokes.”

Martin and the Rangers join forces on Sunday night at Virginia Tech’s Burruss Auditorium. Get show details in Top Tickets at music.roanoke.com. And read the full story with Platt on Friday at music.roanoke.com.