The banjo is making a comeback into many genres of modern music:

http://entertainment.time.com/2013/04/05/the-banjo-ification-of-pop-why-the-instrument-is-everywhere/

Begin a career as a modern rock star by learning it now!

Here's what Backyard Banjo has to say about its instruments:

Our Banjo Lite™ banjos are light-weight, inexpensive, and durable open-backed 5-string banjos designed for beginning players, for quiet practice, or for backpacking and travel.

Where standard banjos use a drum head, we substitute a disk of thin tonewood or baltic birch plywood supported by a hoop of compressed paperboard with sides 1/4" thick. This design reduces cost, weight, assembly difficulty, and playing volume. All five tuning pegs have gears for easy tuning. BYM banjos weigh a little less than two pounds.