RockyGrass Academy

Five-time IBMA guitar player of the year, Bryan Sutton was born near Asheville, NC. He picked up the guitar at the age of eight, initially immersed in rock and jazz playing, but soon captivated by the rhythms and melodies of bluegrass. After high school, Sutton toured for two years before landing in Nashville and joining Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder for their landmark Bluegrass Rules album. Since leaving Kentucky Thunder in 1999, he has became one of the most in-demand guitarists in bluegrass, both on the road and in the studio, earning him three Grammy Awards. His lengthy list of collaborators includes the Dixie Chicks, Dolly Parton, Mark O’Connor, Hot Rize, Chris Thile, Béla Fleck, and Jerry Douglas. Bryan’s latest CD for Sugar Hill Records, Not Too Far from the Tree, features duets with many of his heroes and friends, including Tony Rice, Doc Watson, Norman Blake, and Earl Scruggs.

Whether performing in his trio with Jerry Douglas and Edgar Meyer, with the landmark Country Cooking, or as a high-profile side-man, guitarist Russ Barenberg is known as one of the most melodic instrumentalists in contemporary acoustic music. Russ began playing guitar at the age of 13 in Chester County, Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia, where he was inspired by guitarists Doc Watson, Mississippi John Hurt, and Clarence White. While attending Cornell University in 1970 he played alongside Tony Trischka and Pete Wernick for four years as Country Cooking. A move to Boston in the 1979 led to collaborations with Jay Ungar and Matt Glaser in Fiddle Fever – recording the soundtrack for Ken Burns’ Civil War – as well as in an experimental bluegrass trio with Andy Statman. Since moving to Nashville in 1986, he has worked closely with Jerry Douglas – as members of Maura O’Connell’s band, on studio projects, and as a member of the Celtic-American fusion project The Transatlantic Sessions.  Russ has also recorded and performed with Randy Travis, Emmylou Harris, and Natalie MacMaster, among many others. In 2007 Russ released When At Last, his first solo CD in almost 20 years.

Thanks to his amazing ear, diverse musical background, and funky sense of rhythm, Andy Falco has become one of the hottest young guitarists in Nashville and now the newest member of The Infamous Stringdusters. Andy performed for several years with an American Roots Rock band Waterstreet as the band’s lead guitarist / lead singer / songwriter. From there, he spent four years as lead guitar player and baritone vocalist in the Northeast-based bluegrass band Buddy Merriam and Back Roads. After relocating to Nashville in 2004, Andy became a full-time member of Alecia Nugent’s band, and occasional touring member of The Greencards. He has shared billings with Buckwheat Zydeco, Del McCoury, Richie Havens, Steve Howe, Andy Summers (the Police), Old and in the Way (reunion), and many more. Andy’s debut solo CD, Sentenced To Life With The Blues, was released last summer on Flatpicking Guitar Records.

Sandy has been a long-time instructor at the Academy and helped shape its programming since its inception. He has been teaching music classes at Colorado Mountain College and at his music store Great Divide Music in Aspen, since 1976. Sandy is a multi-instrumentalist and currently performs with the Flying Dog Bluegrass Band from Aspen. Sandy is one of only two instructors that have taught at every Academy since 1992. Having created a loyal student following both in Aspen and Lyons, he will once again be serving as a guitar instructor this year.

Mike Marshall is one of the world’s most accomplished and versatile acoustic musicians, a master of mandolin, guitar and violin whose playing is as imaginative and adventurous as it is technically thrilling. Now living in Oakland, California, Mike grew up in Central Florida, where throughout his teens he played and taught bluegrass mandolin, fiddle and guitar. In 1979, at the age of 19, he was invited to join the original David Grisman Quintet. Mike has since been at the forefront of the acoustic music scene, from the jazz progressions of Montreaux to his classical Modern Mandolin Quartet to the Brazilian rhythms of Choro Famoso to the progressive newgrass of Psychograss. Among Mike’s many musical collaborations, he has worked with jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli, classical violinist Joshua Bell, fiddle virtuoso Mark O'Connor, and his longtime musical relationship with Darol Anger.

Jesse grew up in a musical family, playing intense, hard-driving bluegrass with his brothers Shad and Matt. Upon moving to Nashville in 2000, he began playing with a variety of artists including Ronnie Bowman, The Fox Family, Melonie Cannon, Valerie Smith and Jim Lauderdale. Jesse is known for his incomparable sense of timing and precision, an influence of his hero Sam Bush and New Grass Revival. Jesse joined Jeremy Garrett and others to play with country star Lee Ann Womack on her year-end tour.

Andy Thacker is a master of bluegrass-infused lightning licks. Growing up in Charlottesville, VA, he was surrounded by traditional Appalachian music as a child. A well established mandolin player, his playing has matured to mastery. He now explores the possibilities of the mandolin in various styles and his sweet touch is nothing short of revolutionary. He is the co-founder of the bluegrass trio Fair Weather Bums, a member the Irish-American folk fusion band Sawyer Hollow, and now a member of Adrienne Young & Little Sadie. Andy has performed at many bluegrass and folk music festivals around the US.

The New York Times calls Tony “…the godfather of what’s sometimes called new acoustic music.” Throughout his thirty-plus year career, Tony has defied boundaries and explored a wide variety of genres commonly considered out-of-bounds for the banjo, both as one of the instrument’s finest pickers but also one of its finest educators. Says Béla Fleck, "My springboard was Tony Trischka, and without Tony, none of what's happened with my music would have happened." A native of Syracuse, New York, Tony picked up the banjo at age 14 after hearing the Kingston Trio.  In 1971, he made his recording debut alongside Pete Wernick in Country Cooking.  Tony first broke the banjo barrier with the release of his debut album Bluegrass Light two years later. Both traditional tunes and original tracks shimmered with a fresh energy: the fusion of bluegrass, jazz, rock, and classical. In the years since, Tony has continued his envelope bashing, blending his talents in the studio and on-stage with such forward thinkers as David Grisman, Peter Rowan, Vassar Clements, and Richard Greene. 2007 has been a landmark year for Tony – the keynote speaker at the IBMA conference, performances on David Letterman, Ellen and NPR with Steve Martin and Béla Fleck, and three IBMA awards including banjo player of the year and recorded event of the year.

Pete Wernick ("Dr. Banjo") has been described by Bluegrass Unlimited as "among the most creative and just plain fun musicians in (blue, new, jazz) grass." The Live Five follows two other significant Wernick-organized bands: Country Cooking, known for groundbreaking instrumental albums in the early 70's and the internationally acclaimed Hot Rize. In addition, he's been mentor to thousands with his music camps, bestselling books and videos, and since 1986, first president of the International Bluegrass Music Association. Pete's blazing innovations have crossed back and forth over the borders of bluegrass, but fans can always count on his love of tradition, taste, and tone.

Chris is quickly becoming recognized as one of the premier young banjo players on today's acoustic music scene. After being exposed to the music of Béla Fleck, he bought his first banjo while attending high school in New York. Chris later studied with legends Tony Trischka and Bill Evans, working on everything from traditional bluegrass to progressive instrumental music. With the help of Matt Glaser, he was admitted as the first ever banjo principal at the Berklee College of Music, studying jazz performance and composition. After moving to Boston in the fall of 2001, he performed with a variety of regional and national acts, gaining widespread acclaim as a performer and composer. In the summer of 2002 Chris was awarded the prestigious Bill Vernon Memorial Scholarship at the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival. Chris' debut release, The Handoff, displays his talents as a player, composer, arranger and producer. After relocating to Nashville in 2004, Chris toured with Grammy-nominated artist Bering Strait and the Drew Emmitt Band, before forming the Infamous Stringdusters. In addition to playing full-time with the Stringdusters, Chris works as a session musician in Nashville and tours occasionally with the newly-formed Drew Emmitt/Billy Nershi Band.

Darol is at home in a number of musical genres as a fiddler, composer, producer, and educator, some of which he helped invent. As a member of The David Grisman Quintet, he forged a new genre of acoustic string band music with his "fertile inventiveness, surprising touches and technical mastery" (Boston Herald). With the jazz--oriented Turtle Island String Quartet, Darol developed and popularized new techniques for playing contemporary music styles on string instruments. He founded numerous "Chambergrass" groups, including The Darol Anger Fiddle Ensemble, Fiddlers 4, Psychograss, and the long-lived Anger-Marshall Duo. Darol has worked with some of the world's great improvising string musicians, among them Stephane Grappelli, Mark O'Connor, David Grisman, Michael Doucet, Bruce Molsky, and Vassar Clements. Darol's current musical projects include his Republic Of Strings, Anonymous 4, and duos with pianist Phillip Aaberg and Mike Marshall. As an educator, Darol has led seminars at the Stanford, Oberlin, and Amherst Jazz Workshops.  He regularly teaches at the Berklee School of Music, the Mark O'Connor Fiddle Camp, and at workshops and clinics from Campo Do Jordao, Brazil to the Music Conservatory at Bremen, Germany. He is also a Contributing Editor for Strings magazine.

Since moving to Nashville a few years ago, Jeremy Garrett has turned heads with his soulful lead and tenor vocals, dynamic fiddle playing, and intense stage presence. Raised in Idaho, he began fiddling as a child, cementing his skills with a stint in the Bluegrass and Country Music degree program at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, where he was named Bluegrass Male Vocalist of the Year in 1996. From Texas, he returned to Idaho, joining his father Glen and other area musicians to form The Grasshoppers. Upon his arrival in Nashville, Jeremy collaborated with the Chris Jones Coalition, touring nationally and immersing himself in songwriting and additional stage and studio work. Jeremy teamed up with Ronnie Bowman and The Committee in the fall of 2004, and with Bowman and other members of The Committee, was part of a small acoustic ensemble backing Grammy-winning country singer Lee Ann Womack on her year-end tour. Jeremy has also played and toured with such artists as J.D. Crowe, Bobby Osborne, The Waybacks and many others. In addition to working with The Infamous Stringdusters, Jeremy recorded a bluegrass gospel album with his father titled Jeremy Garrett and Glen Garrett.

Shad was born in Hazel Dell, Wash., across the river from Portland, Oregon. His family moved to Wisconsin when he was 9. He started playing fiddle at 13 and joined his four brothers (including Infamous Stringduster Jesse Cobb) to form a family band. The band wrote its own tunes and played around Wisconsin and Michigan. The band played traditional bluegrass instruments but the style was more New Grass. After several years with the family band, he had an audition and got a gig playing in a country band. That job brought him to Nashville where he went on to play with country music star Mark Wills for three years. Later, after a stint with the Osborn Brother, he spent time playing with Mike Schneider, a banjo player who was a regular on the Grand Ole Opry. That’s how Shad came to John’s attention. John heard him on the Opry and before long invited him to join the John Cowan Band.

Since 1977, Sally's slide guitar work has gained respect and recognition among peers and audiences for her commitment to staying true to playing music with heart and soul. She is well-known for her performances & recorded works ranging from solo work to collaborations with artists such as Jerry Garcia, Chris Hillman, Cyril Pahinui, Jerry Douglas, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Alison Brown, Taj Mahal, Peter Rowan & the Rowan Brothers, Yonder Mountain String Band, Tony Rice, Kathy Kallick, the Nashville Bluegrass Band, Gerry O'Beirne, Maura O'Connell, the inimitable Leftover Salmon and more. From 1977-1996, Sally was a member of the Good Ol' Persons, a much-beloved San Francisco- based band. She has been an IBMA Finalist Nominee for Dobro Player of the Year from 1990-1997 and in 1996 won two IBMA awards, Best Instrumental Recording and Recorded Event of the Year (The Great Dobro Sessions). For nearly three decades, Sally's musical journeys have taken her from the US to the United Kingdom, Europe and Japan. Alongside touring, you can find her wearing the Producers Hat producing recordings for national touring acts that include The Yonder Mountain String Band and the Open Road Bluegrass Band.

Andy Hall plays and sings with excitement, passion, precision and a dynamic that is quickly establishing him as one of the top players in acoustic music today. Based in Nashville, he plays resophonic guitar, guitar and sings lead, tenor and baritone vocal harmony parts. A graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA with a degree in Music Production and Engineering, Andy's credentials include a long list of live performances and recordings with various artists. He has recently been featured on projects by Dolly Parton, Ronnie Bowman, Charlie Daniels, Moody Bluegrass, Dale Ann Bradley, Matt Flinner and others. Andy is currently a member of the new acoustic band The Infamous Stringdusters. Andy's first solo recording Red Wing features some of Andy's original bluegrass and new acoustic music. Instrumentally, look to Andy for driving instrumental breaks, tasteful instrumental backup, and sensitivity to the groove. Vocally, Andy will provide a blend that will enhance the harmony structure of the artist and song with equal finesse.

As the bassist of choice for many of the most innovative acoustic instrumental, as well as traditional, bluegrass and new acoustic music recordings made since the mid-1970s, two-time Grammy Award winner Todd Phillips has revolutionized the role of the bass in bluegrass music.  Todd was a founding member of the original David Grisman Quintet along with Tony Rice and Darol Anger, and spent five years with the group playing both rhythm mandolin and bass. Then he and Rice devoted the next five years to the Tony Rice Unit, and together with J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson, Bobby Hicks, and Jerry Douglas, developed the classic bluegrass recording group: The Bluegrass Album Band. Through the 1980s, Frets Magazine readers voted Phillips five consecutive Readers Poll Awards for "Best Jazz" and "Best Bluegrass Bassist." Todd’s three solo albums have blended influences ranging from Bill Monroe to Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Todd won his second Grammy Award in 1997 for True Life Blues – the all-star celebration of Bill Monroe.

A five-time IBMA bass player of the year (and 4-time SPBGMA bass player of the year), Mike Bub moved to Nashville in 1989, with a band called Weary Hearts. After national and international tours with Weary Hearts, Mike began his 13 years of touring with the Del McCoury Band. During his tenure, the group became the most awarded band in bluegrass music, capped with Del's membership at the Grand Ole Opry and a Grammy Award. These days Mike is a busy freelance bassist playing with a wide variety of artists, including Dale Ann Bradley, Shawn Camp, Verlon Thompson, and Peter Rowan with Tony Rice. Mike is also a member of a new outfit called Tavern Grass, which features guitarist Tyler Grant and mandolin innovator Chris Henry. And if you're in Nashville on a Tuesday night, stop by the Station Inn to see Mike playing with The Sideman (every other Tuesday).

Hailing from Palmer Lake, Colorado, Travis made a name for himself in the West as the lead singer and bass player for Broke Mountain and with Benny "Burle" Galloway as part of the Broke Mountain Trio. Led by Travis' honest vocal style and rock solid bass playing, Broke Mountain won the 2003 RockyGrass band competition. Travis moved to Nashville in the fall of 2005 to join the Infamous Stringdusters. Travis is also a member of the Colorado Playboys, a part-time project which tours only in Colorado, works as an occasional side-man, and is writing a book.

Bluegrass. Newgrass. Rock N' Rollgrass. True innovators defy easy categorization and John Cowan is the ultimate innovator. His ability to move easily between music styles and blend and bend genres into creative new forms has made him one of the most significant voices in acoustic music over the past thirty years. After making a name for himself as one of the most in-demand vocalists in the early 1970s' music scene in Louisville, KY, Cowan rose to fame when he became the lead singer for New Grass Revival for nearly two decades. After inspiring and entertaining fans for nearly two decades, New Grass disbanded in 1990. Cowan immediately gave chase to his creative muse following it all over the musical landscape with a series of critically acclaimed albums. The Evansville, Indiana-native wrapped his expansive voice around tunes that ran the gamut from rock to soul to blues and beyond. As the 21st century began he found himself circling slowly, inexorably back to the acoustic music that he knew so well.

A seventh-generation Floridian, raised on the land farmed by her family generations earlier, Young graduated magna cum laude from Belmont University with a Music Business/Spanish degree. Endless and unfulfilling clerical jobs along Music Row motivated this triple-threat singer, writer and multi-instrumentalist to start her own record label, Addiebelle Music. She used her public exposure from the start to laud positive organizations and issues, becoming a champion for sustainable agriculture. Now living in Nashville, Adrienne's three albums have earned her a Grammy nomination (most unusual feat for a debut indie release), national radio exposure on NPR, and appearances on numerous “best of” lists, including a “Best Country Single of the Year” citation from the Nashville Scene, third place in the Amazon.com list of “best folk recordings of the year,” and benediction from the Los Angeles Times as “the Americana find of the year.”

Emerging from a lively community of friends and colleagues that’s taken root in Nashville, these six musicians of the Infamous Stringdusters are poised at the point where youthful energy is balanced with maturity, inspiration with discipline and creativity with experience. The biggest winner at the 2007 IBMA awards - including album of the year (for their debut Fork in the Road) and song of the year - they are schooled in tradition yet able to stretch out in jam band style improvisation, endowed with razor-sharp vocals, fiery instrumental abilities and a rapidly growing repertoire of well-crafted original songs and tunes. From the joint tenure that Andy Hall, Jeremy Garrett and Jesse Cobb shared in Ronnie Bowman’s band, The Committee, and the initial encounter between Hall, original guitarist Chris Eldridge and Chris Pandolfi in Boston, the idea for the Stringdusters was born. A lengthy search resulted in Colorado jamgrass mainstay Travis Book’s joining the band, and the recent recruitment of Andy Falco, an elite Nashville guitarist who has always been a friend of the band, completed the group’s current lineup. Says Tim Stafford: “they’re young, bright, articulate, immensely talented, and they can sing in the old style or in their own style. I think they’re the vanguard of what bluegrass music is going to become.”

Originating from a group of music camp counselors working in Cordova, AK in 1999, Bearfoot won the 2001 Telluride Bluegrass Festival band competition – an honor they share with past recipients Nickel Creek and the Dixie Chicks. Dropping the “Bluegrass” from their name to signify their expanding musical boundaries into the wider frontiers of acoustic Americana and folk, the five-piece band has toured across the U.S., including a prestigious showcase at IBMA. The band’s fiery acoustic interplay, twin fiddles, and five strong lead vocalists have been featured on their two CDs, including 2007’s Follow Me, produced by Gene Libbea. In 2002, Kate Hamre created the Bluegrass Camps for Kids – adapting the format from the camps in Anchorage and Cordova. Bearfoot created the RockyGrass Kids Camp.

Kate started playing music when she was about eight years old. Her first instrument was piano, which she played for a number of years, until she discovered that she would never grow big enough to carry it to jam sessions. She began playing the fiddle in sixth grade, taking private lessons with Mary Schallert and Frank Solivan II. The following year, she started playing bass for her school since its orchestra had no bass players. Soon after, she became interested in playing bluegrass bass, and Bearfoot increased her musical growth dramatically when they started touring her freshman year of high school. Kate spent three years managing “Bluegrass Camps for Kids”, a program that instructs more than 250 kids every summer on how to play bluegrass music. She now owns this business, and runs the camps around the U.S., Canada, and Ireland. Kate also acts as Bearfoot’s manager as well as being a full time Elementary Education student. When Kate isn’t playing bass, she likes to downhill ski, hike, fish, eat coffee ice cream, and call Angela about band matters.

Mike Mickelson provides Bearfoot's rhythm and flat-picking guitar work on his 1948 Martin D-18. In addition to playing his guitar, Mike writes songs about his adventures in Alaska. His claim to fame is that he has about 40 half written songs, and one day he will sit down and hash them out. Born and raised in Cordova, Alaska, he spent most of his childhood ten miles out of town by boat at his family's birding lodge. Without distractions like electricity or a real bathroom, he concentrated on playing guitar, exploring the wilds of Alaska, skiing, snowboarding, surfing, or fixing what was broken around the house. Mike is notorious for his great story telling, so if you ever have the need to get your Alaskan story fix, Mike is the man to talk to. You will most likely find him doing homework for his Elementary Education degree or under the hood of his ’69 Ford, broken down on the side of the road. Unfortunately his truck is not all that breaks.

Jason Norris is known for being the “I’m gonna go out and jam with everyone at this festival” guy in the band. He started playing mandolin at age 9, learning from Alaskan locals. His enthusiasm for the mandolin and bluegrass music is infectious. He is often seen at Alaskan festivals yelling “Happy Bluegrass!!!” to everyone he sees. Currently Jason is working on a framing job in the tiny town of Nome, AK, usually acknowledged as the Home of the Iditarod. When he isn’t pounding nails or playing music, Jason can be seen scaling Alaska’s mountains, snow machining, or carrying Kate’s bass.

Angela Oudean grew up in Anchorage, Alaska with a family of musicians. She had been influenced to sing and play music through various family activities like going to church, music festivals, and even singing along with the radio on long road trips. She learned to play the fiddle and guitar by taking lessons, attending acoustic music camps for kids, listening to CDs, and watching her family and friends play. Angela was in many childhood bluegrass and folk bands that performed all over Anchorage. When she was 16, Angela became a part of Bearfoot and began to get more serious about playing bluegrass fiddle after traveling and performing more than she had ever done before. After graduating high school, Angela decided to attend East Tennessee State University. While in Johnson City, Angela plays fiddle with an up and coming singer/songwriter group called the Everybodyfields. Angela is planning on graduating college May of 2006 with Bachelor of Science in Sociology, and a minor in Bluegrass.

Annalisa Tornfelt started playing violin at the ripe old age of three, under the careful instruction of her mother. Her musicality grew in her early high school years, after years of music lessons and attending camps, maturing into a fine singer/songwriter. She released her first solo album her senior year, and her sophomore album three years later. Known for her sultry voice and touching lyrics, she had made a name for herself in the folk and bluegrass world.

Michael Hornick is the builder of Shanti Guitars. After building his first guitar in 1985, he worked at Santa Cruz Guitar Company, and presently works alone in his shop in Avery, California, building about twelve instruments a year. Michael has built the first place guitar prize for the nationally recognized Telluride Troubadour contest from its inception in 1991, and helped design the original mandolin and mandola kits. His love of lutherie is reflected in the high quality of craftsmanship found in each of his custom instrument. Michael has assisted students in the building of well over one hundred mandolin kits over the past fourteen years.

Dan Roberts has been intimately involved in instrument production for both Gibson and Flatiron.  He spent five years as production manager and builder at the Santa Cruz Guitar Company. He presently lives in Montana and is the service manager and repairman for the Santa Cruz Guitar Company. He has offered his expertise at the RockyGrass Academy for the last eight years.

Bobby Wintringham is returning for his fifth year as an instructor at the Academy's mandolin building experience. He is a full time luthier building San Juan Mandolins in his shop in Dolores, Colorado.  Says Bobby, "The only thing more rewarding than building instruments is being able to share that knowledge with others."

Gary Lundy has been assisting Michael and Dan in the Mandolin Building class since 2000. He apprenticed with Dan and has now built three mandolins and two guitars. The third guitar is on its way. In 2005 Gary began Lundy Guitars and has begun taking orders. In his other life he's a Professor of English at the University of Montana-Western. He lives in Dillon, Montana.

Chuck has known Michael Hornick since 1992, owns a Shanti guitar, and has assisted Michael with the mando building class since 2002. Each year Chuck produces a mandolin while assisting other students with theirs. In his other life, he is a master mechanic building hot rods in California.

Marcus has been building and repairing instruments for 15 years. He graduated from a four year guitar building school in Norway and received his bachelor degree in classical guitar making in Germany. Marcus apprenticed with Dan Rocberts and worked for Santa Cruz Guitars for 2 years doing high end acoustic guitar repairs. He is currently building and repairing instruments full time in Bozeman, Montana. Marcus has been helping with the mandolin building experience since 2006.