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Eanes, Jim

JIM EANES From Martinsville, Virginia. Nickname: “Smilin’ Jim Eanes” (His given name is Homer—but chose his stage name, “Smilin’ Jim” in 1939.) A pioneer of…

Earl Brothers, The

THE EARL BROTHERS Based in the San Francisco area (although band members are from Virginia, Florida and New York City.) Formed in 2000 by banjo…

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…

Earls of Leicester, The

THE EARLS OF LEICESTER From Nashville, Tennessee. Pronounced “The Earls of Lester.” A bluegrass supergroup formed by Jerry Douglas to pay tribute to the music…

East Nash Grass

EAST NASH GRASS From Nashville, Tennessee. Formed in 2017 as a pick-up band to play dates at Nashville’s Station Inn and eventually became a full-time…

East Virginia

EAST VIRGINIA From Norfolk, Virginia. Formed in 1974 by brothers Art and Joe McDonough. The only bluegrass band to get its start in a barbershop.…

Easter, Jeff and Sheri

JEFF AND SHERI EASTER From Lincolnton, Georgia. Sheri is the daughter of Polly Lewis (Williamson) of the Lewis Family and Jeff is the son of…

Easter Brothers, The

THE EASTER BROTHERS From Mount Airy, North Carolina. Formed in 1953 by brothers: James, Russell and Ed Easter. One of the first full-time bluegrass gospel…

Eddy, Jake

JAKE EDDY From Parkersburg, West Virginia. Plays all the bluegrass instruments but his specialty is flat-pick and gypsy-jazz style guitar. 2014, while in middle school,…

Edelman, Judith

JUDITH EDELMAN From New York City. Has lived in Idaho, Jackson Hole, Nashville. 1993-1995, sang lead with a Crested Butte, Colorado band called Ryestraw. 1996,…

Edwards, Ray

RAY EDWARDS (AND HARD ROCK MOUNTAIN) From Arcadia, North Carolina. A bluegrass multi-instrumentalist, he won the banjo championships at Carlton Haney’s Camp Springs Bluegrass Festival…

Ekstein, Rudi

RUDI EKSTEIN From Asheville, NC. He was born in Kansas and lived most of his life in southern California (Los Angeles). The son of Austian…

Eldredge, Terry

TERRY ELDREDGE From Terre Haute, Indiana. Lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Nickname: “Bo-Bo Batelbe” 1978, while still in high school, played bass with Louie Popejoy and…

Elkville String Band, The

THE ELKVILLE STRING BAND From Wilkes County, North Carolina Formed in 2001 by Jerry Lankford. They take their name from the Wilkes County town of…

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.…

Ellis, Wyatt

WYATT ELLIS From Maryville, Tennessee. He began playing mandolin at age 10. 2020 (age 11), he was selected for a Tennessee Folklife apprenticeship under the…

Emerson, Bill

BILL EMERSON (AND SWEET DIXIE) From Washington, D.C. He is considered of the most influential five-string banjo players in bluegrass music. 1955, first pro job:…

Emmit, Drew

DREW EMMITT From Boulder, Colorado. Plays mandolin. Influenced heavily by Sam Bush. 1984, formed the Left Hand String Band. 1992, formed Leftover Salmon. 2002, released…

Engle, Troy

TROY ENGLE (AND SOUTHERN SKIES) From Glen Rock, Pennsylvania He is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has worked as a sideman with Patty Loveless, Buddy…

Enright, Pat

PAT ENRIGHT Originally from Indiana. Lived in the San Francisco bay area in the early 70’s. Now resides in Nashville. 1976, formed a San Francisco…

Evans, Bill

BILL EVANS From Charlottesville, Virginia. Has lived in California, New Mexico, Kentucky, recently moved back to Virginia. Has degrees in anthropology and music from University…

Evans, Gerald (and Paradise)

GERALD EVANS AND PARADISE From Cincinnati, Ohio. Before forming Paradise, Evans played fiddle and mandolin with the Traditional Grass, Dave Evans and Riverbend, and the…

Everhart, Bob

BOB EVERHART From Anita, Iowa. A multi-instrumentalist and singer, best-known as the founder and president of the National Traditional Country Music Association (NTCMA). 1975, he…

Ewing, Tom

TOM EWING From Columbus, Ohio. Lives in Gallatin, Tennessee. Was the final lead singer and guitarist with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys (from…

Expedition Show, The

THE EXPEDITION SHOW From Nashville. Formed in 2002 by banjo player Blake Williams and mandolin player Bobby Clark as The Williams and Clark Expedition. Also…

Ezra

EZRA From Oberlin, Ohio. Founded by multi-instrumentalist Jesse Jones (guitar/piano). Also Jacob Joliff (mandolin), Max Allard (banj0) and Craig Butterfield (bass). They describe themselves as…