If you met Allen Shadd at a bluegrass jam or backstage at a festival, you might never guess that he’s breathing rarified air in an elite club of only four people in the world—he has won, three times, the National Flatpicking Guitar Championship in Winfield, Kansas. Shadd carries himself in a casual manner, often pointing out his own perceived weaknesses. ...

It’s rare for a guitarist to communicate with a distinctly identifiable voice within the abundant sea of bluegrass and traditional flatpickers. Unique in her delivery, Avril Smith stands out. Her articulate guitar work is rich with a creative blend of quirky flourishes, poignant timing, double stops, and signature voicings that bend the ear just a little bit further than expectation ...

Trey Hensley has for years won over bluegrass fans with his signature smoking guitar style. Yet outside the niche of bluegrass, music lovers of all kinds are drawn to his playing and his music. Call it bluegrass, blues, rock, jamband music—it doesn’t matter. When asked how he’d define his style of flatpicking, Hensley chuckles and simply responds, “My style is ...

Growing up Out West in Utah, Jake Workman never expected, much less aimed to be, an internationally recognized musician. Yet today he’s held the coveted lead guitar position with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder for half a decade and recently snagged the International Bluegrass Music Assocation’s 2020 Guitar Player of the Year award, a rarity for a first-time nominee in ...

Imagine that your life had a personal soundtrack. What would it sound like? Jon Stickley, a native North Carolinian and longtime national touring artist, has been interpreting his surroundings for so long that it’s natural that his music would evolve into a personal soundscape, lush with many miles of experience with his own Jon Stickley Trio. “I think the music ...

Virginia native Rebecca Frazier is perhaps best known for her work with her bluegrass band, Hit & Run, which made history as the only band to win competitions at Rockygrass (2002), Telluride Bluegrass Festival (2003), and the SPBGMA Band Championship in Nashville (2005). Yet her story is not your typical mountain or mountain valley upbringing with late night jams and weekend music parties that are common stories ...

California native Tyler Grant is widely known in the jam band world for his work with multiple outfits including Grant Farm and Emmitt-Nershi Band, fronted by members of Leftover Salmon and String Cheese Incident. While his electric guitar work compellingly reflects classic influences such as Jerry Garcia, his award winning flatpicking guitar styling has placed him in a class of ...