OBrien, Tim and Mollie
TIM AND MOLLIE O'BRIEN From Wheeling, West Virginia. Brother and sister duo; have sung together since childhood. 1967, won a talent contest in Wheeling performing as "Hardship and Perseverance." The following year, they won it again as "The K
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Yates, Bill
BILL YATES From Washington, DC. Played bass with the Country Gentlemen from 1969 to 1989. 2005, formed a new band "Bill Yates and Friiends" to perform the songs of the Country Gentlemen. The group features the lead vocals of Mike Phipps, who
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Blue Highway
BLUE HIGHWAY From Johnson City, Tennessee First gig: 12/31/94 (New Year's Eve). Band members: Tim Stafford (guitar), Wayne Taylor (bass), Shawn Lane (mandolin), Jason Burleson (banjo), Rob Ickes (Dobro™). When the band formed, Tony Brown
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Dickens, Hazel
HAZEL DICKENS From Mercer County, West Virginia. For many years lived in Georgetown, Washington D.C. Daughter of a Primitive Baptist preacher who hauled timber for the coal mines. Best known for singing and writing songs about coal mines, wor
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Ellis, Tony
TONY ELLIS From Silva, North Carolina. Lives in Ohio. Began playing banjo at age 14. Early bands: The Virginia Mountaineers and the Shady Valley Boys. 1960-1962, played with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. After leaving Monroe's
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Kallick, Kathy
KATHY KALLICK From the San Francisco Bay Area (She is originally from the Chicago area. Her Mom was a prominent folksinger there. She moved to the Bay Area in 1973.) 1975, co-founded (with Laurie Lewis) The Good Ol' Persons (disbanded 1995). Sh
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Pyatt, Dale
DALE PYATT From Viburnern, Missouri (in the Ozarks). Grew up in Columbia, Missouri. A singer/songwriter who co-wrote the song "Life Goes On," from the award-winning album Life Goes On by "Musicians Against Childhood Cancer." Wrote "Run Secre
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Adkins, Dave
DAVE ADKINS From Elkhorn City, Kentucky. Adkins began performing at age 8. Spent two years playing country music at Dollywood theme park. Fans call him the Ray Charles of bluegrass (for his soulful singing). Plays guitar. 2011, formed Repub
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Earle, Steve
STEVE EARLE Born in Fort Monroe, Virginia; grew up in the San Antonio, Texas area. 1974, moved to Nashville to write songs. Mid-80's, recorded for Epic Records, scored several hit records, including "Guitar Town (1986)," and "Goodbye's All We
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Flannery, Tim
TIM FLANNERY From San Diego, California. (Was born in Athens, Kentucky.) A professional baseball player and coach (San Diego Padres 1979-1989 as an infielder, 1992-2002 as third-base coach). Went to two World Series and one All-Star Game. For s
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Twisted Pine
TWISTED PINE From Boston, MA. Formed in 2013 by Berklee College of Music students: Kathleen Parks (fiddle), Dan Bui (mandolin), Ricky Mier (banjo), Chris Sartori (bass) and Rachel Sumner (guitar). 2014, won band contests at the Freshgrass and Thomas Point Beach Festivals. They played weekly at a club called the Cantab Loube in Cambridge, MA. […]Read More »Salt and Light
SALT AND LIGHT From Graham, North Carolina. A family band (the Moore Family) featuring siblings Kyndal (mandolin), Morgan (guitar), Parker (banjo), Daniel (fiddle), Norah (fiddle) and Garrett (bass). 2017, they ranged in age from 11 (Norah) to 21 (Parker). They began performing together as a band in 2014. While they are not exclusively a gospel-singing […]Read More »Johnson, Billie Renee'
BILLIE RENEE’ JOHNSON From Mt. Sterling, Kentucky. She grew up singing with her family gospel group. 1996, graduated from college with a degree in criminology. 1997, formed her own band Billie Renee’ and Cumberland Gap. 2006, won the band competition at SPBGMA. 2017, released Songs from the Heart album (Truegrass).Read More »Newton, Garrett
THE GARRETT NEWTON BAND From Clayton, North Carolina. Began playing the banjo at age 10. 2016, at age 16 formed his own band and was being featured at Lorraine Jordan’s Coffee House (he also works as a barista there) and appears with her on the road. 2017, released first album Young Man, Old Soul (Pinecastle).Read More »40 Horse Mule
40 HORSE MULE From Nashville, Tennessee. Formed in 2016, the brainchild of Bennie Boling (bass). Also in the band: Billy Troy (guitar and vocals) and Steve Huber (banjo). Bennie Boling is a former member of the Farm Hands Quartet. Billy Troy (born Billy Graves) is a singer/songwriter, the son of Bluegrass Hall of Famer Josh […]Read More »Find an artist
This web site contains short profiles of the best known bluegrass artists and bands. Click on the A to Z listing above and scroll to the artist you are looking for.
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
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 DJ’s 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!