Jeremy Wanless is celebrated for his own rugged and bluesy take on the traditional Blue Grass mandolin style created by Bill Monroe. As a teenager, Jeremy studied under internationally known mandolin masters Mike Compton and Skip Gorman. Jeremy worked for years on staff at the Augusta Heritage Center, American Mountain Theater, Gandy Dancer Theater, and Franks Family Music’s “Greatest Show On Rails” as well as numerous bluegrass ensembles over the years. A patient teacher with a refined musical manner, Jeremy teaches mandolin both privately and publicly and performs regularly with the “Phrawg Giggers” and “Franks Family Music.”

Silas is a 5th generation picker from the small town of Salem, WV. While a multi-instrumentalist of fiddle, guitar, and banjo, his passion remains with the mandolin.

Silas first had the mandolin in his hands in his playpen, and his dad and Papaw knew then he was going to follow them in their music talents.  He first started playing the mandolin at age 7 when he picked up the instrument and started ‘chopping’ along to his dad’s band rehearsal!

Silas has performed at Merlefest, Houston-fest, Remington Ryde, Bob Evan’s Festival, and Baygrass Festival in the Florida Keys. He has performed with many top Bluegrass musicians, including Jesse McReynolds, David Grier, Doyle Lawson, Mike Compton, Blue Highway,  Missy Raines, Sierra Hall, Mandolin Orange, Emory Lester, Johnny Staats, Terry Baucom, Joe Mullins , and The Grascals.  Silas has been featured on Woodsong’s Old Time Radio hour as a “Woodsong’s Kid” as well as being a member of “Tomorrow’s Bluegrass Stars”.  In 2017 and 2018 Silas was selected as 1 of 25 kids to participate at the IBMA’s Kids on Bluegrass.

Silas’s lists of competitions wins and awards is impressive for such a young player:

• 4 time Junior Champion, State of Maryland;
• 2nd place, Maryland State Adult division (age 12);
• West Virginia State Championship Adult Division Top 5;
• 4th place, Monterey Virginia’s Old Time Fiddler’s Convention (at age 10);
• 2106 State of West Virginia Junior Flatpick Champion
• 2nd place Appalachian Old time Fiddler’s Championship, West Virginia University (Fiddle);
• Scholarship Recipient Houstonfest, Galax, VA

In 2019, Silas became the 1st Recipient of the Monroe Mandolin Camp Apprenticeship, which offers students going into music teaching, a teachers hands-on experience and mentoring.

Add on to all of these accomplishments, Silas shares his love of music monthly at a local nursing home, which has earned him “Youth Volunteer of the Year”, State of West Virginia.  You can see Silas Powell and The Powell Family Band at festivals around the country.

John Keith was born in Parkersburg, WV and raised just up and across the Ohio River in Newport, OH.

John began playing guitar when he was nine. One day he heard the Bill Monroe record Bluegrass Time, and decided he wanted, no, he needed a mandolin.  That is when John began studying the music of Bill Monroe and other monroe-style players.  In July, 1990, John was hired by Melvin Goins and toured for many years.  During this time he met Mike Compton and became even more determined to play those old sounds of Monroe.

After the passing of Ray Goins, John took over the tenor vocals to harmonize with Melvin, recording three CDs and a live video.  During these years, John had the opportunity to hang around with Mr. Monroe…and among his treasured possessions is a personal video of duets they sang together at Bean Blossom.  Another precious memory happened at Long Hollow Jamboree, when Bill sang and insisted that John play the mandolin.

Poignantly, perhaps the last live music that Bill Monroe ever heard was the Goins Brothers Band playing his songs standing outside his window at the rehabilitation facility where he spent his last days, with John’s Monroe-style mandolin punctuating every line.

John tried to retire from music in 1998, but it wasn’t too long before he decided he couldn’t do without it.  Now, he plays with The Open highway Bluegrass Band from Central Ohio.  People know they can always count on hearing some ‘straight old Monroe-style’ mandolin playing from John.

Since first hitting the scene in the early 1980’s, Alan has made a name for himself as one of the most technically gifted mandolinist in bluegrass and acoustic music. He was an original member of such ground-breaking bands as The New Quicksilver, IIIrd Time Out, BlueRidge and, for the last 12 years, Alan Bibey & Grasstowne. He has been voted Mandolin Performer Of The Year five times, including 2018 and 2019 by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA). Alan Most recently won 2019 IBMA Mandolin Player Of The Year as well as previously for Instrumental Album Of The Year, Album Of The Year and Recorded Event Of The Year, just to name a few. Alan Bibey & Grasstowne have had over ten #1 Bluegrass songs including four from their latest Bluegrass project, Grasstowne “4”. Their Bluegrass Gospel single “Gonna Rise & Shine” has been #1 twelve times and in the top ten for 34 weeks and their latest single “When Jesus Swings The Wrecking Ball” has been in the top ten for the last 40 weeks! Alan’s BlueRidge project “Side By Side”, for which Alan wrote the title track, was nominated for a Grammy. He was included in the Mel Bay book, “Greatest Mandolin Players Of The Twentieth Century”, and in 2004, the Gibson Company put into production the Alan Bibey Signature line of mandolins, reaffirming his status as one of the most influential mandolin players in Bluegrass and acoustic music history.  Alan will be leading our “PLAY IT FORWARD” classes-using traditional bluegrass musical ideas to play contemporary sounds.