RockyGrass Academy

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 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 in 2007 on Flatpicking Guitar Records.

Having spent the majority of his career as a member of the nationally prominent acoustic band the Tony Rice Unit, Wyatt has played on some of the most popular and influential recordings in the bluegrass, folk, and new acoustic music genres (Church Street Blues, Backwaters, Me and My Guitar, Unit of Measure, and many others). He has played just about every major bluegrass music festival, traveled to Europe and Japan on numerous occasions, and has performed in forty-four states. His instructional video, Advanced Bluegrass Rhythm Guitar (available through Flatpicking Guitar Mercantile), is a benchmark in establishing and disseminating Wyatt's unique rhythm style.

IBMA 2008 Guitar Player of the Year is happier than ever working with his own band, with the Tony Rice Unit, and playing his own style of bluegrass music. Born and raised in western Kentucky, Josh's grandmother, a gifted poet and vocalist who often entertained, began Josh’s musical career by showing him how to play the ukulele when he was only five years old. A short time later, his dad began showing Josh some chords on the guitar and Josh taught himself to play mandolin, dobro, and guitar while taking banjo lessons from western Kentucky legend, Scottie Henson. During high school he performed with “Hyper Drive” (with Scott and Chris Thile), and New Haven Records youth band “The Young Acoustic All-Stars”. After graduation from high school he spent five years on the road with “Special Consensus”, followed by four years (of three hundred days per year touring) with “The Rage.”

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.

Growing up in a house where bluegrass music was played, and always listened to, Ron had the exposure from a very young age. Many pickin' parties were held at the house, along with rehearsals that his Dad would have with his band then, The Dixie Pals. At the age of 9 Ronnie started taking violin lessons. But when he was just 13, after attending a show with his Dad where he saw Bill Monroe perform, he decided that he wanted to play the mandolin. He practiced on it for six months and when his Dad had an opening in the band for mandolin player in 1981, he asked Ron to fill it. Ronnie has been playing with his Dad ever since. In 1998 Ronnie teamed up with David Grisman and some other great mandolin players to create the CD titled Mandolin Extravaganza, which made its appearance on the Acoustic Disc label in 1999. This CD was nominated for a Grammy Award and also won Instrumental Album of the Year and Recorded Event of the Year at the IBMA awards show in October of 2000.

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.

"With guys like Emory around, the future of the mandolin is in good hands." (David Grisman) It was when he first heard the music of the Country Gentlemen in 1973, and more particularly the mandolin playing of Jimmy Gaudreau and Doyle Lawson, that Emory caught the bug to buy a mandolin. He formed a band in 1979, named "Hollywood", with banjo/mandolin player James Hann, guitarist Sheridan Minnick, and bassist Missy Raines, and the band performed a mixture of bluegrass and new acoustic jazz. In 1988 Emory began a five-year musical journey that saw him win the Central Canadian Mandolin Player of the Year award four times, and perform bluegrass and new acoustic jazz throughout the entire country. Moving back to Virginia in 1993, Emory produced his highly acclaimed recording "Pale Rider", featuring such sidemen as Tony Trischka, Ray Legere, and Slavek Hanzlik. In the past several years, Emory has been teaching his mandolin style at acclaimed music workshops such as the Steve Kaufman Acoustic Kamp in Maryville, Tennessee, and the British Columbia Bluegrass Workshops in Sorrento, British Columbia, Canada.

Rob McCoury's earliest memories are of music, especially since it was everywhere around the house. There were picking parties, rehearsals and festivals. Rob went to his first bluegrass festival at Ontalanee Park in Allentown, PA when he was six weeks old. Rob "caught the pickin' bug" when he was just eight years old, after seeing the Osborne Brothers at Sunset Park in West Grove, PA. Rob recalls "picking first thing in the morning and the last thing I did at night", and it was what he wanted to do. In June of 1986 Del had a festival to play in Bath, NY and he needed a bass player. Although Rob knew almost nothing about playing a bass fiddle, he played bass with his Dad that day and ended up being the bass player in the band for about a year, until the banjo position became available in 1987. He has been with the band ever since.

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 Drew Emmitt/Billy Nershi Band.

A native of Yorktown Heights, N.Y., Mark now hangs his hat in Florida but learned his trade from Jay Unger while living in New York. Mark didn't know that Jay was a highly accomplished fiddler who also tinkered with the clawhammer style of banjo. It was in the early 1970s, that Mark learned from this consummate fiddler the basic technique of clawhammer banjo. He also learned the three-finger style of bluegrass picking as his familiarity with the instrument unfolded. Mark moved to Crystal River in Florida in 1981 where, per chance, he met the Rice brothers, Larry, Tony, Ronnie and Wyatt. Mark was working at the local power utility with Herb Rice, Larry and Ronnie and through that relationship, his manner for style and creativity in composition and performance was forever changed. Mark's unique style doesn't really fit into a strict category. It's very bluegrass but has overtones of traditional folk, progressive acoustic, new-grass and old-timey all mixed into one. It's authentic. It's unique. It's Clawgrass.

When Jason Carter was 16 years old he heard Del McCoury for the first time...and that's when he picked up the fiddle. Upon graduating from high school in 1991, he landed his first professional job as a musician. He worked six months for The Goins Brothers playing fiddle and traveling mostly on the East Coast. In February of 1992 The Goins Brothers played in Nashville, TN with Del McCoury; Jason asked him for a job. Two weeks later he was back in Nashville trying out. They played in Nashville, West Memphis and Garland, TX and when they got home they told him that he had the job. He's been with the band ever since. Since then Jason has relocated to Nashville and it's been more than a dream come true for him. He feels very fortunate to be able to play with some of his musical heros and to travel the world playing bluegrass music.

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.

Jody Stecher has been a mainstay in folk music for over three decades. His continuing musical explorations have covered bluegrass, traditional old-time and Indian classical music, echoing his deep understanding of these idioms, gleaned from years of dedicated study. A musician of constant aesthetic integrity, Jody is regarded as one of Americaís leading traditional folk artists. His recordings have served as a primer for a large and diverse group of musicians, including Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Peter Rowan, Martin Simpson, Seldom Scene, Laurie Lewis, Kathy Kallick, and Hot Rize. Accomplished musician David Bromberg said, "Jody Stecher was basically my teacher. He opened my ears to more beautiful music than anyone else ever did... more than I ever knew existed. I have never known anyone so intensely and completely enveloped in music. It's my suspicion that if you drained all the music out of Jody, you could carry what was left around in an eye dropper."

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 a child Alan learned to sing by listening to his mother and singing along in church. At fourteen his dad started teaching him guitar. He was introduced to bluegrass by an uncle who had a band called Special Blend. When Alan was 19 he went to his first festival, the Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival in Woodstown, NJ. From then on he was hooked. The next year at the same festival he met some other young pickers and together they started a group called 2nd Edition. When their first bass player left to spend more time with his wife and their new baby, Alan decided to give the bass a try and wound up loving it. After 2nd Edition decided to go their separate ways, Alan joined the Kenny and Amanda Smith Band and moved to Nashville, TN. Alan has freelanced with other artists such as Ronnie Bowman, Jim Lauderdale, Lee Ann Womack, The Nashville Stringdusters, Melonie Cannon, Alecia Nugent, and Randy Kohrs. In August, 2005, Alan joined the Del McCoury Band and he looks forward to making great music in the years to come.

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.

Bryn grew up in Livermore, CA where her mother (mathematician/flutist) and father (chemist/vocalist) started her on piano at age three. After moving through flute, violin, and french horn, Bryn eventually settled on the cello and upright bass. She attended the Berklee College of Music on a scholarship, majoring in Jazz Performance. After meeting a bunch of bluegrassers in Boston, she joined the Two High String Band. After relocating to Austin, she met Peter Rowan and started playing with him in the fall of '98. A year later Tony Rice joined to form the Peter Rowan & Tony Rice Quartet. Bryn currently lives in Nashville, when she's not touring with such artists as Old and in the Gray, Darrell Scott, Steve Earle and The Bluegrass Dukes, Uncle Earl, Shawn Camp, Jim Lauderdale, Tony Rice Unit, or many others. Most recently Bryn has performed with Patty Griffin on her "Children Running Through" tour.

Sarah Siskind is seen as one of today's most eclectic songwriters with songs covered by Alison Krauss, Randy Travis, Bon Iver, the Infamous Stringdusters, April Verch and more. Krauss released both Siskind songs as singles, and in 2008, her rendition of "Simple Love" was nominated for a Grammy. In 2009, Sarah stepped into the artist spotlight with her own album "Say it Louder" (Red Request Records/Thirty Tigers). Although she has been making records since the tender age of 14, (including the 2002 release "Covered" which featured world-renowned guitarist Bill Frisell), "Say it Louder" is making the biggest splash among fans and critics alike. Bonnie Raitt calls it "a masterpiece" while "Big Al" Anderson (NRBQ) calls it "one of the best records ever made." In October of 2009, "Say it Louder" was named Americana Album of the Year in the Nashville Music Awards, where the other nominees were Buddy and Julie Miller, Justin Townes Earle, Chuck Mead and Todd Snider. Armed with a striking vocal sound of her own and sharp musicianship, the respect Sarah has garnered as a songwriter and an artist in Nashville has quickly spread across the country and beyond.

Grammy-award winner and five-time Grammy nominee, Peter Rowan is a bluegrass singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades. From his early years playing under the tutelage of bluegrass patriarch Bill Monroe, and following his stint in Old & In the Way with Jerry Garcia and subsequent breakout as both a solo performer and bandleader, Rowan has built a devoted, international fan base through his continuous stream of original recordings, collaborative projects, and constant touring. On the road, Rowan performs internationally as a solo singer-songwriter, while stateside he plays in three bands: the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, a quartet featuring Jody Stecher, Keith Little, and Paul Knight; The Peter Rowan & Tony Rice Quartet; and his rocking band, The Free Mexican Air Force.

Eileen Carson Schatz, Founding Director of Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble since 1979, has toured internationally including guest choreographer and performer in Riverdance in London and with the Smithsonian Institute in Japan. Footworks has performed at Merlefest, Greyfox, Icons, and many other festivals, as well as the Kennedy Center and performing arts centers and universities across the country. Eileen was the artistic director and choreographer for the production of Tim O’Brien’s “The Crossing” with dance.  As Artistic Director, choreographer, dancer and lead vocalist for Footworks, she has received a National Endowment for the Arts Choreography Fellowship, a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award, an “Annie” Award for Performing Artist from the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, MD, won the national Chris Austin Songwriting Competition, and was selected Artist of the Year by Young Audiences of Maryland in 2006. Eileen has performed and taught for over 30 years and is a 2007 graduate of the Teaching Artist Institute of Maryland.

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.

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.”

No other band today has the same credentials for playing traditional and progressive music. As the sons of bluegrass legend Del McCoury, Ronnie McCoury on mandolin and Rob McCoury on banjo continue their father’s work—a lifelong dedication to the power of bluegrass music to bring joy into people’s lives. And with fiddler Jason Carter and bassist Alan Bartram, the ensemble is loved and respected by the bluegrass faithful. But the band is now combining their sound with others - including the Allman Brothers, Lee Boys, Warren Haynes - to make something fresh and rejuvenating. They can push forward so far because their roots are so deep. The band has a confidence that only comes with having paid their dues with twenty years on the bluegrass road. Other groups and new fans hear this immediately—the tight rhythm, the soulful material, and the confidence in taking bluegrass from the safety of the shore into uncharted waters. It’s that attitude, backed up by talent, that marks great musicians, traditional or progressive. The Travelin’ McCourys are twenty-first century musical pilgrims and adventurers. They’re onto something new, just like Bill Monroe was in the 1940s, but now we can see and hear that adventure live or online. Go see them, or—if you hold still long enough—they’ll come to you.

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.

Odessa hails from Northern California and now hangs her hat in Nashville, TN. Odessa began playing violin at age 4 and has been heavily involved in the classical music community. She has played with the Santa Rosa symphony and made her debut at Carnegie Hall at the age of 13 with the Young Peoples' Chamber Orchestra. Odessa has shifted her focus to bluegrass and old-time fiddle, becoming a full-time member of the Biscuit Burners for several years. Since moving to Nashville she has been welcomed by the local music community not only for her amazing ear for harmony and melody on her instrument, but also for her heart warming vocals and unique but familiar songwriting style.

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 fifteen years.

Dan Roberts began his instrument making career with Flatiron Banjo and Mandolin Company in Bozeman, MT. He was production manager for Gibson Montana Division before moving to California as luthier and production manager for Santa Cruz Guitar Company. Dan lived in Santa Cruz for 6 years before moving back to Montana to work for Santa Cruz out of his own shop. There he built the SCGC archtops, did new model design and some prototypes, and was the warranty repairman, service manager, and production manager with the help of an on-site shop foreman. After 17 years with SCGC Dan hung out his own shingle and is a Custom guitarmaker building Roberts Guitars. Dan has been teaching the mandolin building class at Rockygrass Academy since 1996.

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 Roberts 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.