🪕 banjo Emoji — Meaning, Copy & Paste

What Does the banjo Emoji 🪕 Mean?

A four-stringed banjo with a round drum body, this icon represents bluegrass, country, folk, and Americana music. People use it for posts about jam sessions, bluegrass festivals like Telluride and MerleFest, and trips through the Appalachian mountains where banjo music has deep roots. It also fits old-time string band references and the surprising popularity of banjo in modern indie folk thanks to Mumford and Sons and similar acts.

Added in Unicode 12.0, the symbol filled an important gap for representing one of America's iconic instruments. Pair it with music note, mountain, and acoustic guitar emojis for folk content. Drop it when sharing a porch picking session, marking a folk festival weekend, or hyping a friend's first banjo lesson.

From clawhammer old-time banjo to three-finger Scruggs-style bluegrass picking, this icon represents centuries of American folk music history rooted in West African instruments brought to the Americas and continually evolving since. It's the kind of symbol you don't think about until you need it.