Brown, Tommy

Brown, Tommy

TOMMY BROWN (AND THE COUNTY LINE GRASS) From Shepherdsville, Kentucky. Brown plays banjo and sings lead vocals with his band the County Line Grass (formed in 1991). Began playing banjo at age 6. Won both the Kentucky and Tennessee State Ba

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Moses, Justin

Moses, Justin

JUSTIN MOSES From Madisonville, Tennessee. Lives in Nashville. Plays all the bluegrass instruments. After high school, played with a band called Kentucky Wind. 2000, formed Blue Moon Rising with Kentucky Wind bandmates Tim Tipton and Ke

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Otsuka, Akira

Otsuka, Akira

AKIRA OTSUKA From Japan; lives in the Washington DC area. Best known as the impressive mandolin player with The Bluegrass 45, a legendary bluegrass band from Japan. Has become a fixture in the Washington DC bluegrass scene, plays all the blue

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Christianson, Brian

Christianson, Brian

BRIAN CHRISTIANSON From Nashville. A fiddle player and luthier. 2000, received his degree in String Instrument Repair, Violin Specialty from the Minnesota State Technical College in Red Wing, MN. He also received his certificate in Violin Bui

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Bradley, Dale Ann

Bradley, Dale Ann

DALE ANN BRADLEY From Pineville, Kentucky. Her father was a coal miner and a Baptist minister. Began performing at age 14 with a group called Back Porch Grass. 1988, worked at Renfro Valley. 1990, joined the New Coon Creek Girls as lead

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Andes, Mike

Andes, Mike

MIKE ANDES From Timberville, Virginia. Lives in Pataskala, Ohio. Began playing mandolin and singing at age 14. 1983, joined the East Coast Bluegrass Band. 1994, founded the group Nothin’ Fancy, singing lead and harmony vocals, playing mand

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Fairview Avenue

Fairview Avenue

FAIRVIEW AVENUE From Albany, New York. Formed in 2006 by Scott and Elizabeth Hopkins (banjo/bass). Other members: Tony Califano (mandolin) and Morrie Safford (guitar), Brig McCutcheon (guitar)and Joe Gumpper (fiddle). The band is named aft

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Sitze Family, The

Sitze Family, The

THE SITZE FAMILY From Fredericktown, Missouri. Formed in 1990. Denny (guitar) and Candy Sitze and their three sons: Dennijo (mandolin), Chad (banjo) and Andy (bass). 1994, won the “National Old Time Band Championship” (National Traditional

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Val, Joe

Val, Joe

JOE VAL From New England. Was born in Everett, Massachusetts. Real name: Joseph Valiante. His last name was shortened to Val by fiddler Tex Logan. An influential mandolin player and tenor singer in the New England area. 1950’s, perform

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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!