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Paisley, Danny

Man smiling while singing into microphone.

DANNY PAISLEY (AND THE SOUTHERN GRASS) From Landenburg, Pennsylvania—about fifty miles southwest of Philadelphia. Danny’s father Bob Paisley formed the Southern Grass in 1979. Prior…

Palmer, Joshua

Smiling person in a suit holding guitar.

JOSHUA PALMER From Owls Hollow, Alabama. Plays mandolin with an Alabama group called Valley Road. He previously worked with a gospel group called Canaan’s Crossing.…

Pardue, Rick

Man wearing cap with guitar strap.

RICK PARDUE From State Road, North Carolina. 1975, played banjo in a North Carolina band called the Sugarloaf Ramblers. Left the music scene in the…

Parker, Jeff

Musician playing mandolin on stage, smiling.

JEFF PARKER From Renfro Valley, Kentucky. Began playing guitar at age six. Age 12, began performing with his family band Sounds of Gospel at the…

Parmley, David

Five men posing in formal attire.

DAVID PARMLEY (AND CARDINAL TRADITION) From Nashville (White House, Tennessee), but grew up in Los Angeles, California. 1974, began playing bluegrass professionally at age 17…

Parmley, Don

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DON PARMLEY From Monticello, Kentucky. Also lived in California and Virginia. Began playing banjo at age 12. After learning the Scruggs style, he performed with…

Parton, Dolly

Person in black leather jacket, looking contemplative.

DOLLY PARTON From Locust Ridge, Tennessee. Began her singing career at age 11. Moved to Nashville in 1964 after graduating from high school. Was introduced…

Patent Pending

Band playing instruments outdoors in a garden.

PATENT PENDING From the Washington, DC area. Formed in 1979 by Eldred Hill, Jim Steptoe, Rusty Williams, Leigh Taylor. 1980, began playing Wednesday nights at…

Pathway

Band with instruments standing in grassy field.

PATHWAY From Mt. Airy, North Carolina. Formed in 2007 by three brothers: Mitchell (bass), Mark (banjo), and Scott (fiddle) Freeman. Also in the band: Mark’s…

Pedersen, Herb

Man playing acoustic guitar and singing on stage.

HERB PEDERSEN From Berkeley, California. Moved to Los Angeles (San Fernando Valley) in the 1960’s. Began career in Bay Area playing in a band called…

Penn Central

Four men posing with musical instruments.

PENN CENTRAL From Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1981 by Mark Rickert (guitar) and Steve Huber (banjo). Other members of the band included Todd Clewell…

Perkins, Larry

Man playing banjo on stage, wearing suit.

LARRY PERKINS Originally from Grant County, Indiana. Lived for many years in Nashville (rented a house from Earl Scruggs). Currently lives in North Carolina. A…

Perry, Billy

Man playing guitar on stage, Australian flag behind.

BILLY PERRY From Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. A banjo player who is a member of an Oklahoma band called Mountain Smoke. Vince Gill was also in…

Pert Near Sandstone

Four men standing in outdoor setting.

PERT NEAR SANDSTONE From Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. Formed in 2004 along the sandstone bluffs of St. Paul, Minnesota by Justin Bruhn (bass), Kevin Kniebel (banjo),…

Peterson, David (and 1946)

Man in suit and hat, thoughtful pose.

DAVID PETERSON (AND 1946) From Nashville, Tennessee. Originally from Easton, Massachusetts. A historian of bluegrass and country music and has performed with several bluegrass bands…

Petticoat Junction

Album cover: Petticoat Junction, four women.

PETTICOAT JUNCTION From Nashville, Tennessee. An all-female band formed in 1988 by Andrea Campbell (Roberts) who had previously worked with Wendy Smith and Blue Velvet,…

Phillips, Lewis

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LEWIS PHILLIPS From Lincolnton, Georgia. Son of Earl and Janis Phillips (Janis was a member of the gospel singing group, The Lewis Family,). 1972, at…

Phillips, Todd

Man smiling while playing a double bass.

TODD PHILLIPS From the San Francisco Bay area (born in San Jose). Now lives in Nashville. One of the top bass players in bluegrass music.…

Phoenix

Four musicians playing string instruments together.

PHOENIX From Charlottesville, Virginia. Formed in 2000. Members: David Coffey (guitar), Eddie King (mandolin), Randy Driskill (banjo), Jim Green (bass). 2001, released “Rising from the…

Piatt, Cory

Man playing mandolin in a casual setting.

CORY PIATT From Winston-Salem, NC. Currently lives in Nashville. Began playing the mandolin at age 7 performing at contests and festivals with his family group,…

Pikelny, Noam

Man playing banjo on stage in suit.

NOAM PIKELNY From Champaign, Illinois. A banjo player who was inspired as a teen by Bela Fleck. 2002, played in a college jam band called…

Pine Mountain Railroad

Five men in suits standing on grass.

PINE MOUNTAIN RAILROAD From Knoxville, Tennessee. Formed in 1998 by guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Jimbo Whaley and banjo player Kipper Stitt. Other band members have…

Pinnacle Boys, The

Band members in blue suits, smiling together.

THE PINNACLE BOYS From Knoxville, Tennessee. A band featuring Bud Brewster (guitar), Larry Mathis (banjo), Jim Smith (mandolin), Randall Collins (fiddle), Jerry Moore (fiddle) and…

Pitney, Mo

Man in denim shirt with necklace.

MO PITNEY From Cherry Valley, Illinois. Lives in Nashville. Real name: Morgan Daniel Pitney. As a teenager, he played in a bluegrass band with his…

Plate Scrapers, The

Band playing instruments in front of bus.

THE PLATE SCRAPERS From Virginia and Western Maryland. Formed in 2014 by Derek Kretzer (banjo), Andrew Jordan (guitar), Brett Kretzer (mandolin), Jody Mosser (dobro, lap…

Platt, Woody

Man with guitar, sepia-toned portrait.

WOODY PLATT From Brevard, North Carolina. 1998-2022, played guitar and sang lead vocals for the Steep Canyon Rangers. As a member of that group, he…

Playing On The Planet

Album cover: Playing On The Planet, Bangor Bound.

PLAYING ON THE PLANET From Ducktown, Tennessee. Formed in 2003 under the name Ducktown Station. Their music is described as “Cosmic Rockin’ Boogie Grass.” Their…

Po’ Ramblin’ Boys

Band performing with instruments on outdoor stage.

PO’ RAMBLIN’ BOYS From Sevierville, Tennessee. Formed in 2014 by C.J. Lewandowski (mandolin), Josh Rinkel (guitar), Jereme Brown (banjo) and Jasper Lorentzen (bass). Lewandowski (mandolin)…

Poindexter, Frank

Man smiling while holding a guitar.

FRANK POINDEXTER From Monroe, North Carolina. A Dobro™ player, uncle to the Rice Brothers (Tony, Larry, Wyatt and Ron.) Has toured and recorded with the…

Porter, Thomas

Man with guitar in a garden setting.

THOMAS PORTER From Phoenix, Arizona Plays guitar and mandolin. A man of many talents, he is also a licensed massage therapist, a web designer, graphic…

Prater, Kevin

Four men in blue shirts with instruments.

THE KEVIN PRATER BAND From Belcher, Kentucky. Formed in 2009 by Kevin Prater (mandolin) and Tom Timberlake (banjo). Prater formerly worked with the James King…

Prewitt, Michael

Man with guitar in forested area.

MICHAEL PREWITT From Williamsburg, Kentucky. A vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, specializing in mandolin. 2021-2024, played mandolin with Special Consensus. 2024, released two solo projects, The Peerless…

Price, Bill

Vintage mandolin with dark wood finish.

BILL PRICE From Monroe, North Carolina. He owned a farm and studio there called “Bluegrass Hill.” Began musical career in 1954. Recorded two albums for…

Price, James

Person playing violin on rustic porch.

JAMES PRICE From Uneeda, West Virginia. Lives in Parkersburg, WV. Began pro career as fiddler with the Goins Brothers Band. 1994, released “The Old Mountaineer”…

Price Sisters, The

Two women outdoors with string instruments.

THE PRICE SISTERS From Sardis (Monroe County), Ohio. A duo featuring twin sisters Lauren Price (mandolin) and Leanna Price (fiddle). They began singing at the…

Primitive Quartet, The

Band playing string instruments, wearing suits, smiling.

THE PRIMITIVE QUARTET From Candler, North Carolina. They perform bluegrass and Southern gospel music in churches and other gospel-music venues. Formed in 1973 by two…

Pruett, Marc

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MARC PRUETT From Haywood County, North Carolina. 1972-74, worked with James Monroe. Worked at a music store in Asheville, NC teaching banjo for many years,…

Punch Brothers, The

Five men in suits standing together outdoors.

THE PUNCH BROTHERS From Nashville, relocated to New York City in 2008. Formed in 2007 by mandolinist Chris Thile (formerly of Nickel Creek), enlisting the…

Psychograss

Five musicians with instruments outdoors under blue sky.

PSYCHOGRASS A project band featuring Darol Anger (fiddle), David Grier (guitar), Mike Marshall (mandolin), Todd Phillips (bass), and Tony Trischka (banjo). 1993, released Psychograss album…

Pyatt, Dale

Man playing acoustic guitar, smiling at camera.

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…

Pythagoras

Group of friends posing on concrete ledge.

PYTHAGORAS From Johnson City, Tennessee Formed in 2023 by Grant Dresnok (guitar),  Gracie Mae Grossman (fiddle), Joe Henson (mandolin), Gabriel Hebert (banjo) and Lexi Wagnitz…