Benson, Kristin Scott

KRISTIN SCOTT BENSON

  • From Union, South Carolina. Lives in Boiling Springs, SC with her husband Wayne (of IIIrd Tyme Out)
  • Began playing mandolin at age 5, learned banjo at age 13.
  • 1995-1999, played banjo with the Larry Stephenson Band while attending Belmont University.
  • 2000, joined Sally Jones and the Sidewinders.
  • 2002, released first solo album of banjo instrumentals, Straight Paths (Pinecastle).
  • 2002, joined Honi Deaton and Dream.
  • 2004, joined Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time.
  • 2006, left Cordle’s band to re-join the Larry Stephenson Band. She also gave birth to her first child.
  • 2008, joined the Grascals.
  • 2008, released second solo album Second Season (Pinecastle).
  • 2016, released third solo album Stringworks (Mountain Home).
  • 2018, won the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass.
  • 2019, won her fifth IBMA award for Banjo Player of the Year (also won in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011).
  • 2022, formed a duo called “Benson” with her husband mandolinist Wayne Benson.
  • 2024, was inducted into the American Banjo Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City.