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 band, he worked with Mac Wiseman, The Beaver Creek Boys (Bristol, Tennessee) and The All American Boys (with Tom Ewing).
• 1987, released Dixie Banner album (Flying Fish).
• 1993, released “Farewell My Home” album (Flying Fish).
• 1996, performed at the Olympics.
• 1998, released Quaker Girl album (County).
• 1999, released “Sounds Like Bluegrass To Me” album (Copper Creek).
• 2002, formed Tony Ellis and the Musicians of Braeburn. He tours internationally with the U.S. State Department.
• 2005, performed with Steve Martin, Earl Scruggs, and Peter Wernick on the Dave Letterman show as “Men with Banjos Who Know How to Use Them.”