• From Maggie Valley, North Carolina.
• Called "King of the Smoky Mountain Banjo."
• Born on an Indian reservation in Cherokee, North Carolina.
• Performs regularly at the Maggie Valley Opry House—a local country music performing arts center.
• Known for his speed on the banjo. In his words, "The older I get, the faster I get."
• Known for his deadpan demeanor on stage—he rarely ever smiles. But friends say he does have a keen sense of humor. He just takes his work very seriously.
• Once received six standing ovations (in one appearance) at the Grand Ole Opry.
• 1967-1975, performed with the Maggie Valley Boys.
• 1975-1991, worked with the Crowe Brothers (who started with the Maggie Valley Boys, then in 1978 changed the name to Raymond Fairchild and the Crowe Brothers.)
• Formed the new Maggie Valley Boys, including his son Zane on guitar.
• Designed the Cox/Fairchild banjo for the Cox banjo company.

ANDY FALCO

• Lives in Nashville.
• 1996-1999, played guitar and sang lead with The Water Street Blues Band (later WaterStreet) combining Blues, Funk, Jazz, R&B, Country, Gospel and Bluegrass.
• 2000-2004, worked with Buddy Merriam and Back Roads.
• 2004, joined Alicia Nugent's band. Also worked with Bradley Walker, Malibu Storm, other bands.
• 2007, joined the Infamous Stringdusters, replacing Chris Eldridge (who joined Chris Thile's band)
• 2007, released first solo project.

THE FARIS FAMILY

• From Ozawkie, Kansas.
• Band includes Bob and Michelle Faris (banjo and bass) and their four sons, James (fiddle/bass), Richard (guitar), Edward (banjo/fiddle), and John (mandolin).
• Bob Faris (dad) won the Iowa State Fiddle Championship at age 19. Played in numerous bands in Las Vegas, Nashville, Branson. Retired from full time music career in 1991 to become a full-time dad.
• They have won numerous SPBGMA awards including "Entertaining Band of the Year."
• Perform regularly at their own "Bluegrass Barn Theater" in Ozawkie, Kansas.

TAMMY FASSAERT

• From Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
• She sings and plays guitar.
• 1988-1990, worked with Laurie Lewis and Grant Street.
• 1989, formed "Tammy and the Americans" with Scott Nygaard, Sally Van Meter and John Reischman.
• 1990, joined the Good Old Persons
• 1995, formed The Sally Van Meter/Tammy Fassaert Band.
• 1996, toured as a duo with Dobro™ player Doug Cox.
• 1998, began performing solo.

GARY FERGUSON

• From Sandy Springs, Maryland. Lives in Littlestown, Pennsylvania.
• 1980, performed in a Baltimore area band called Bittersweet.
• 1985, formed The Gary Ferguson Band.
• Played in a rock band until his conversion to bluegrass in 1977 at the Union Grove Fiddler's Convention.
• During the Vietnam War, worked in an ammunition plant in Texarkana, Texas.
• First bluegrass band: Snodgrass. Others: The Garris Brothers, Bittersweet, and Redwood (with banjo whiz Chris Warner).
• Holds the distinction of being the only songwriter to reach the finals of the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at MerleFest five times.
• 1997, his song "Last Day at Gettysburg" was recorded by Larry Sparks and spent a year on the Bluegrass Unlimited charts.
• 2000, formed a duo with vocalist Sally Love (a vocalist who also is the former director of the Insect Zoo appearing regularly as the "Bug Lady" on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with David Letterman.) In 2007, she joined Seneca Rocks, a new band with Dudley Connell and other former members of the Johnson Mountain Boys.
• 2004, formed a duo with 17-year-old guitar whiz Jordan Tice. Also sitting in with the Emory Lester Set and the Lonesome Road Band (Arkansas group.)

FESCUE

• From Marian (Smyth County), Virginia.
• Formed in 1980 by "Fat Albert" Blackburn (plays bass).
• Fescue is a very resilient type of grass. Hence the name.
• Other band members: Mike Goodman (banjo), Garnet Lester (guitar), Raymond Campbell (mandolin), Jordan Blevins (fiddle).
• 1997, 2000, won first place at Galax Old Time Fiddler's Convention band contest.

CATHY FINK (AND MARCY MARXER)

• A folk-singing duo from the Washington DC area.
• Specialize in folk music for children.
• Have been performing together since 1987.
• Cathy is from Montreal, but moved to Takoma Park, Maryland in 1979. Plays banjo and guitar.
• Marcy is from Michigan. Worked on production lines at General Motors. Began performing professionally in 1978. Plays guitar, mandolin, hammered dulcimer.

FIVE FOR THE GOSPEL

• From Eastern Kentucky (near Louisa).
• Formed in 1991, but performed primarily in churches and gospel music events until "discovered" at 1995 IBMA Trade Show by Kerry Hay, who signed them to his Hay Holler Label.
• Formed by Rick May (guitar) and Pat Holbrook (bass).
• Johnny Branham (banjo) previously worked with the Goins Brothers and Dave Evans.
• 1995, did a gospel concert in Durham Cathedral and performed at the Heart of England Bluegrass Festival in Kenilworth, England.
• 1997, won SPBGMA award for "Traditional Gospel Group of the Year."
• Rick May was formerly a guard at the state prison. He is also an ordained Baptist minister.

ANITA FISHER (THE ANITA FISHER BAND WITH RAY DEATON)

• From Cedarville, West Virginia.
• Began her career performing with a family band called Fisher and Company.
• 2005, appeared on the CD "Daughters of American Bluegrass."
• 2006, married Ray Deaton (formerly with IIIrd Tyme Out), who also joined her band playing bass.

TIM FLANNERY

• From San Diego, California. (Was born in Athens, Kentucky.)
• A professional baseball player and coach (San Diego Padres 1979-1989 as an infielder, 1992-2002 as third-base coach). Went to two World Series and one All-Star Game. For several years, he did color commentary for local Padres radio and TV broadcasts.
• His father was a Baptist minister in Kentucky and gave him his roots in bluegrass, Irish and gospel music.
• During his baseball playing days, he performed in the off-season with local musicians, playing mostly Jimmy Buffet-style pop and beach-rock music.
• 2001, released first acoustic/bluegrass album, produced by Dennis Caplinger. Includes many of his original songs.
• 2004, released "Kentucky Towns" CD, a tribute to his late father.
• 2007, joined the coaching staff of the San Francisco Giants (third base) and released "The Wayward Wind," his eighth album.

LESTER FLATT AND EARL SCRUGGS (AND THE FOGGY MOUNTAIN BOYS)

• Considered by many to be the most important bluegrass band in the history of the music, primarily because they perfected the Monroe sound and exposed it to bigger audiences than ever before. They brought bluegrass from the country schoolhouse to the big city—Carnegie Hall in New York City and San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium, to name a few.
• Members of the "original bluegrass band"—Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys (1945-1948).
• Members of the Grand Ole Opry and one of its most popular acts during the 50's and 60's.
• Worked together for roughly twenty-one years (1948-1969).
• Their early work on Mercury and Columbia during the late 40's and the 50's are the considered the "essential bluegrass recordings"—the body of work upon which the entire genre is based. Their songs are classics and continue to be recorded and re-recorded by almost every bluegrass band.
• 1953, began doing early morning radio shows on WSM (Nashville) sponsored by Marth White Flour, and remained as promoters of the company throughout their career. The Martha White Theme as performed by Flatt and Scruggs is heard on Grand Old Opry broadcasts to this day.
• Rose to popular fame during the urban folk music revival of the early sixties. They performed at folk festivals and college campuses, helping to convert an entire new generation to bluegrass music.
• Recorded the theme to the CBS-TV show "The Beverly Hillbillies" and made frequent guest appearances on the show.
• 1966, their recording of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" was used in the soundtrack for the movie "Bonnie and Clyde" starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.
• The Foggy Mountain Boys took its name from the song that Flatt and Scruggs used as their theme—a Carter Family song called "Foggy Mountain Top."
• Broke up in 1969 due to disagreements regarding musical direction. Scruggs left to play progressive music with his sons in "The Earl Scruggs Revue," and Flatt left to play traditional bluegrass with "The Nashville Grass."
• 1981, they were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
• 1991, they were inducted separately into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor.
• 2007, inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

LESTER FLATT (AND THE NASHVILLE GRASS; See also LESTER FLATT AND EARL SCRUGGS)

• From Sparta, Tennessee.
• After working with Bill Monroe (1945-1948) and Earl Scruggs (1948-1969), formed his own band "Lester Flatt and the Nashville Grass."
• "The Nashville Grass" was the result of a "Name the Band" contest in which Lester's fans were invited to mail in their suggestions for a new band name.
• Band included such performers as Curly Seckler, Marty Stuart, Tater Tate, Kenny Ingram, Vic Jordan, Roland White and others. Marty Stuart joined the Nashville Grass when he was only 13 years old.
• After Lester died of a heart ailment in 1979, The Nashville Grass continued on for several years led by Curly Seckler and Flatt sound-alike Willis Spears.

BELA FLECK

• From New York City.
• Of Hungarian descent. He was named after the composer Bela Bartok. His brother Ludwig was named after Beethoven.
• First musical instruments: guitar and french horn. As a young teen was accepted into the New York High School of Music and Art for artistically gifted students.
• Converted to the banjo after hearing "The Beverly Hillbillies" on TV and the movie "Deliverance" featuring "Dueling Banjos."
• Took banjo lessons from Tony Trischka.
• 1976, formed Tasty Licks with guitarist Pat Enright (now with The Nashville Bluegrass Band).
• 1979, formed Spectrum with mandolinist Jimmy Gaudreau.
• 1981-1989, was a member of New Grass Revival.
• 1990, won the IBMA award for "Banjo Player of the Year."
• 1990, formed jazz group "The Flecktones." Spent his life savings to produce their first album, which was picked up by Warner Brothers.
• 1999, released "The Blue Grass Sessions" album, which featured two duets with Earl Scruggs.
• 2000, toured with the Dave Matthews Band.

MATT FLINNER

• Originally From Salt Lake City.
• 1990, won the National Banjo Championship in Winfield, Kansas.
• 1991, won the National Mandolin Championship as well. From that point on, decided to make the mandolin his primary instrument.
• 1997, joined the Judith Edelman band
• 1998, toured with Todd Phillips and David Grier.
• Former bands: Sugarbeat, Tim and Mollie O'Brien, Tony Trischka.
• 1999, recorded an album of duets with John Lowell (Wheel Hoss, Kane's River). Also recorded with David Grier and Todd Phillips as a trio.
• 2002, joined the Modern Mandolin Quartet in Manhattan, Kansas. Also formed the Matt Flinner Quartet.
• 2002, toured with Leftover Salmon.
• 2005, a member of Drew Emmitt’s band.

PAT FLYNN (See also THE NEW GRASS REVIVAL)

• From Thousand Oaks, California. Lives in Nashville.
• 1981-1990, guitarist with the New Grass Revival.
• During his tenure with NGR, won Frets Magazine Readers Poll for "Best Acoustic Guitarist" five years in a row. For winning five years in a row, he was inducted into Frets Magazine's "Gallery of Greats" alongside Doc Watson, Chet Atkins and Tony Rice.
• After NGR, went back to school and got his masters degree in counseling. Also worked as a studio musician/record producer in Nashville. Among his credits: Crucial Smith, Alan Thornhill, Cadillac Sky and Candace Corrigan.
• Wrote and performed on Garth Brooks' hit single "Do What You Gotta Do."
• 2004, served as Tom T. Hall's musical director for Hall's "Artist in Residence" program at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville.
• 2004, returned to recording and performing with his own record label (Request Records).
• 2005, performing dates as "Pat Flynn and Friends" with such artists as John Cowan, Tim O'Brien, Darrell Scott, Stuart Duncan, Buddy Greene, Michael Card and others.

THE FORBES FAMILY

• From Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
• One of the top bluegrass gospel acts of the mid-1980's. Broke up in 1989 to raise families. Resumed performing together in 1993.
• The group consists of four brothers and sisters: Homer Forbes (banjo), Jay Forbes (mandolin), Lisa Forbes Roberts (vocals), Lori Forbes Slate (bass).Grew up singing as children at the Free Will Baptist Church in Littlestown, Pennsylvania.
• Showcased at IBMA Trade Show in 1995. Ron Block (of Union Station) heard them and liked them so much he produced their 1996 album "In the Shadow of Your Wings."

BILLY JOE FOSTER (AND SPECIAL EDITION)

• From Duncan, Oklahoma.
• A multi-instrumentalist who has worked with numerous bands including Country Gazette, Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys and the Ricky Skaggs Band.
• Is also an accomplished songwriter.
• 1999, formed his own group, the Special Edition.

THE FOX FAMILY (3 FOX DRIVE, THE KIM FOX BAND)

• From Old Forge, New York (the Adirondack Mountains). Now live in Nashville.
• A brother and two sisters (Joel, Kim and Barb Fox).
• 1989, won the Winterhawk Bluegrass Festival band contest.
• Since 1990, they have hosted their own annual bluegrass festival in New York.
• 1994, Kim won the Merle Watson Songwriting Contest at Merlefest.
• 1998, the Fox Family disbanded and Kim moved to Nashville to pursue her career as a songwriter. She also formed The Kim Fox Band, with various Nashville musicians including Andrea Roberts (bass) and Jesse Cobb (mandolin.) Her brother Joel would often play banjo.
• 2005, Kim, Joel and Barb re-united to form a new band called 3 Fox Drive.
• 2006, performed The Star Spangled Banner to open the IBMA Awards Show.

FOXFIRE

• From Oregon.
• Formed in 1984.
• Won the Northwest Regional "Pizza Hut International Bluegrass Showdown" in 1992.
• Frequently appeared on stage as "Lost Leroy and the Lone Star Lumberjacks" and as "Vic Del and the Del Toids" (a 50's group).
• The word "foxfire" is actually the name of a fungus that glows in the dark.

ASHBY FRANK

• From Lexington, North Carolina.
• Mandolin prodigy. Began playing guitar, then turned to mandolin at age 10.
• 1999, won 1st place in mandolin competition at MerleFest at age 16.
• 1999, his newly-formed band "Southern Drive" won the Pizza Hut International Bluegrass Showdown in Louisville, KY.
• 1994, performed with Bill Monroe at the Bell Cove Club in Hendersonville, TN (was 11 years old at the time).
• His family raises Tennessee Walking Horses.
• He is pursuing a career in computer graphics and advertising.
• 2001, joined The Gena Britt Band.
• 2003, Marty Raybon and Full Circle.
• 2006, Alecia Nugent.
• 2007, Special Consensus.

RANDALL "RANDY" FRANKS

• From Chamblee, Georgia. Lives in Atlanta.
• Called "The Appalachian Ambassador of the Fiddle."
• Began performing at the age of eight.
• Musical career includes singing, songwriting and producing. Plays guitar, bass, mandolin and fiddle.
• Age 19, played fiddle and bass with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys.
• 1992, received the "Fiddlin' John Carson Award."
• Other bands: Jim and Jesse, the Lewis Family, and the Golden River Grass.
• First love: gospel music. Has performed with gospel artists the Marksmen, the Lewis Family, Jeff and Sheri Easter, and the Singing Perry's.
• Also a professional actor. Was a regular on the hit CBS series "In the Heat of the Night," playing the part of "Officer Randy" on the Sparta Police Force.
• Active in many community service programs. Speaks to thousands of youth every year, encouraging them to "Keep Saying No to Drugs."
• 1992, produced a Christmas album featuring the "Heat" cast and several bluegrass and country music stars (Jim and Jesse, Ralph Stanley, Josh Graves, the Lewis Family, Jimmy Martin, etc.) to benefit drug-abuse prevention programs around the country.
• 2002, recorded an album of old-time duets with David Davis (Warrior River Boys.)
• 2004, was inducted into the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame.
• Hobbies: spelunking (caving) and hiking.

FREEWHEELIN'

• From Rehoboth, Massachussetts.
• Formed by banjo player Larry Neu, formerly sound and lighting man for the Lonesome River Band. He plays banjo.
• Bass player Dimitri Eleftherakis formerly played with the Schankman Twins, Amy Gallatin, Barry and Holly Tashian, others.
• Other band members: Earle Oiver (guitar/lead vocals) and John Roc (mandolin).
• 2004, released first single to radio stations "Caroline in Carolina."

THE FREIGHT HOPPERS

• From Bryson City, North Carolina.
• Formed in 1993.
• Appeared on Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" after entering his "Talent from Towns Under 2000" contest and being selected from 492 entrants.
• A traditional string band, their music pre-dates bluegrass. They play music from the 20's and 30's, from artists like the Skillet Lickers, Uncle Dave Macon and the Carter Family.
• Band members: Dave Bass (fiddle), Frank Lee (banjo), Cary Fridley (guitar) and Jim O'Keefe/Hanne Jorgenson (bass.)
• Broke up in 1999, re-formed, then broke up again in 2001.
• Fiddler Rayna Gellert worked with this band for a time and also in a duo with Frank Lee. She joined Uncle Earl in 2003.
• 2007, after a five-year hiatus, original members Bass and Lee re-formed the band, joined by Thomas Bailey (guitar) and Isaac Deal (bass).

THE FRITTS FAMILY BAND

• From Rogersville, Tennessee.
• Formed in 1986.
• Features Larry Fritts, who began playing bluegrass when he was 12 years old.
• Band includes Fritts' wife, three sons and daughter.
• Many of their concerts sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.
• Larry Fritts' first band: Bud Rose and the Country Tune Twisters, from Elizabethton, Tennessee.

THE FRONT PORCH STRING BAND (See also CLAIRE LYNCH)

• Originally from Hazel Green, Alabama.
• Led by Claire and Larry Lynch.
• Formed in 1974 on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
• Originally called themselves "Hickory Wind."
• After recording a successful album in 1980, the Lynch's disbanded the group, taking time off from music to begin a family. They re-organized the group ten years later.
• Claire Lynch has recorded several solo albums and has also worked as a guest vocalist on albums by such artists as John Starling, Susie Ward, Skip Ewing, Dolly Parton, Kathy Mattea, Emmy Lou Harris and Patty Loveless.
• Alan O'Bryant (of the Nashville Bluegrass Band) was a member of the FPSB.
• Larry Lynch is a full-time accountant.
• 1997, disbanded again–but occasionally re-unites to accompany Claire Lynch.

FRONT RANGE

• Formed in 1984 in Denver, Colorado, but only two band members lived there.
• Name "Front Range" comes from the name given to the eastern slopes of the Colorado Rockies.
• 1988, recorded first album (a cassette). Original band included Peter Schwimmer on banjo.
• 1990, recorded second album in their own studio on their own record label. Mailed 500 copies to radio stations and the song "High Mountain Meadow" became a bluegrass "hit."
• 1995, won IBMA award for Gospel Recording of the Year (for "One Beautiful Day").
• Banjo player Ron Lynam is the world's undisputed "Underwater Banjo Champion." He accomplished this feat by playing an aluminum banjo underwater in a pool at the Midwinter (Ft. Collins, CO) Bluegrass Festival. It has become an annual event. He is also a high school social studies teacher.
• Lead singer Bob Amos is a prolific songwriter with a master's degree in geology. He has recorded several solo albums.
• Bass player Bob Dick lives in Pennsylvania and has recorded several solo projects.
• Mandolinist Mike Lantz was the only Colorado native. He passed away in March 2006 of brain cancer.

FRONTLINE

• From Salem, Oregon.
• Formed in 1996 to tour with vocalist Kate MacKenzie. They were previously known as "Out of the Blue."
• Original members: Dale Adkins (guitar), Dale Williams (banjo), Joe Wilmhoff (bass). Vocalist and fiddler Leah Larson (fiddle) joined the band when Kate MacKenzie retired in 1999.
• Mandolinist John Reischman was also a member of this group.

TONY FURTADO

• From the San Franciso Bay area.
• Played banjo with Laurie Lewis and Grant Street; The Rounder Banjo Extravaganza (with Tom Adams and Tony Trischka) and his own group Sugarbeat.
• 1999, formed the Tony Furtado Band, a fusion of country, bluegrass, blues and jazz.
• His recording of "I Will" with guest artist Alison Krauss was included on Krauss' "Now That I've Found You" album, which sold two million copies.
• Won the National Banjo Championship in Winfield, KS in 1987 and 1991.
• 2002, formed The American Gypsies (a jazz group).