Block, Ron

Block, Ron

RON BLOCK From Torrance, California. Lives in Nashville His father owned a music store (Hogan’s Music) in Southern California. He grew up literally surrounded by musical instruments. Began playing guitar at age 11; banjo at age 13. 1983-1985

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Daughters of Bluegrass, The

Daughters of Bluegrass, The

THE DAUGHTERS OF BLUEGRASS The brainchild of Lorraine Jordan and Gena Britt, who decided in 2001 to record an album featuring many of the top women musicians in bluegrass music. The “Daughters” include more than 40 female artists including Jord

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Necessary, Frank

Necessary, Frank

FRANK NECESSARY From Ruckersville, Virginia. He was born in Boone’s Camp, Kentucky and worked in the Baltimore/Washington DC area as well as in Ohio. Played banjo and was the leader or co-leader of several bands including the Stone Mountain Boy

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Byrd, Senator Robert

Byrd, Senator Robert

SENATOR ROBERT BYRD From Sophia, West Virginia. He was born in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Served as U.S. Senator from West Virginia for 41 years. He has cast more votes in the Senate than any other Senator in U. S. History. Learned to play t

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Marks, Tad

Marks, Tad

TAD MARKS From Cooksville, Maryland. 1990-1992, played fiddle for the Del McCoury Band. 1992-1993, the Lynn Morris Band. 1994, the Kate McKenzie Band. 1995-1997, the James King Band. 2000, worked with Scottish folksinger Charlie Zahm.

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Harris, Bob

Harris, Bob

BOB HARRIS Originally from Illinois. Lives in Flemington, New Jersey. Was member of New Jersey bluegrass band “Rank Strangers.” Fronted his own band “Razin’ Cane.” 1993, Guitar Player magazine gave him the award for “Acoustic Pickstyle” G

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McCoury, Del

McCoury, Del

DEL MCCOURY (THE DEL MCCOURY BAND) From York, Pennsylvania. Currently lives in Nashville. Began playing banjo at age 14. 1963, played banjo with a Baltimore group, The Virginia Playboys. 1963-1964, worked with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass

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Golding, Wes

Golding, Wes

WES GOLDING From Lambsburg, Virginia. Lives in Advance, North Carolina—near Winston-Salem. Began performing at age 8 in a group called the Twin County Partners with his 11-year-old friend Jimmy Arnold. 1972, joined Roanoke, Virginia-based gr

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Johnson Mountain Boys, The

Johnson Mountain Boys, The

THE JOHNSON MOUNTAIN BOYS From Washington, D.C. area (Gaithersburg, Maryland). Formed in 1975 as a duet featuring Dudley Connell on banjo and Ron Welch on guitar. Connell eventually switched to guitar and added other musicians to form a full

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Mary and Mars

Mary and Mars

MARY AND MARS From Santa Fe, New Mexico. An acoustic trio formed in 2002 to explore the outer limits of bluegrass. They played everything from bluegrass classics to Motown and reggae. Members: Sharon Gilchrist (mandolin), Ben Wright (guitar)

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Find an Artist

This web site contains short profiles of the best-known bluegrass artists and bands.

  1. Use the Search Band or Artist function located at the top of the sidebar on the right to find an artist by name.
  2. Or, utilize the Artist List drop-down below the search function in the right sidebar to search by the first letter of their last name if an individual – or – the first letter of a band name.

Check Out These Artists

Access the Bluegrass Calendar

In the navigation at the top of the website, choose a month and then scroll through the days.

Programming Suggestions

Need some music for holidays and other special occasions? Look to the right, I where you’ll find the occasion and some song suggestions to meet your programming needs.

Some Background

A great big howdy to ya, I’m Wayne Rice, a bluegrass radio programmer from San Diego, California. I began compiling this material in 1988 for DJ’s like myself who want to at least sound knowledgeable about bluegrass music on the air. Originally I published Bluegrass Bios® in a three-ring binder and sold it to DJs around the country … but now it’s here on the web and it’s free! Use it for your show prep, or just enjoy learning more about the amazing artists who play and sing bluegrass music. If you find errors or wish to make a suggestion, please contact me. Thanks!

Ezra

EZRA From Oberlin, Ohio. Founded by multi-instrumentalist Jesse Jones (guitar/piano)....

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Gangstagrass

GANGSTAGRASS From Brooklyn, New York. Formed in 2006 by record-producer...

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