Nancy Bounds

Nancy Bounds began her yoga journey years ago, dabbling with college courses in beginning yoga. Life happened; 3 children, 2 divorces and a long, very stressful career at AT&T. She came away from my AT&T experience diagnosed with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue and realized she had to do something to get her health back on track. She returned to yoga as a way to heal and be nourished again.

In 2000, her yoga study intensified. This included studying anatomy, yoga philosophy, asana practice, breath-work, yoga therapy, etc. After a very rigorous certification program and multiple classes a week, she became a yoga teacher. To date she has taught over 18,000 hours, while continuing to attend instructor workshops and training classes regularly to deepen her knowledge. Being very intrigued with the human body, Nancy helps students come into their optimal energetic blueprint.

Nancy has studied with many of the top yoga instructors and educators in the United States including John Friend, Betsey Downing, Desiree Rumbaugh, Doug Keller, Jenny Otto, Max Strom and Leslie Kaminoff.  As with music, Nancy has found that each teacher brings their own style and method to the practice-and she strives to incorporate a joy of being alive, a sense of humor, and a deep understanding of the yogic practice to each session and student.

Nancy is a full time Realtor, Yoga Instructor and lover of all kinds of music (particularly Bluegrass) and outdoor activities. For each of her professions she continues with professional development and education, maintaining rigorous standards of practice…for yoga, that includes a designated ERT-500.

“I believe that the practice of yoga is something that is available to everyone regardless of physical ability and age. I hope to be able to continue teaching and practicing yoga and enjoying music for the duration of my life.” – Nancy

Will Kimble

Kimble mandolins are custom made tools for acoustic musicians. Each mandolin is carefully crafted by hand based on input regarding tone, feeling, aesthetics. There are no standard models or trim levels. Excellent workmanship is key to great sounding mandolins.  Will started building mandolins in 2000.  Taught by his father, Fred Kimble, they still work side by side building instruments.

Paul Duff

Paul DuffAfter building his first mandolin in 1982, Paul became fascinated with the array and diversity of skills, many from a bygone era, required to successfully build a mandolin. In the almost three decades since, he has been focused on refining, developing and applying these skills to his one true passion; the mandolin family of instruments produced by Gibson in the 1920s.

Paul’s love of bluegrass music drew him automatically to the F5 mandolin of Bill Monroe both musically and from a luthier’s perspective. The first mandolin he ever built was an F5 model like Monroe’s, a difficult undertaking as any builder will tell you. His attention has since broadened to other instruments from this ‘Golden Era’, also known as the ‘Loar Period’. Paul now includes mandolas, mandocellos and archtop guitars in his inventory of models offered to customers.

The inspiration derived from the truly successful, spectacular instruments of this ‘Loar Period’ is what drives Paul to spend each day ‘at the bench.’ He is a hands-on kind of builder. He doesn’t use a CNC carving machine but does have a hand operated pantograph router. This allows him to save himself for the important hand carving of the top and back plate. Paul would rather master the art of the various skill sets rather than outsource them. Consequently, his instruments are adorned with hand cut pearl and abalone inlays, colored sunbursts are applied by hand and of course, they are french polished. You can find out more information about Paul on his website at duffmandolins.com. Better yet, stop by and order a custom made mandolin!

Lauren Price

Music has long been present in the life of Lauren Price Napier. Growing up, she learned to sing duet-style harmony with her twin sister, Leanna, by listening to their parents sing together. Although Lauren and Leanna were gifted instruments as children, it wasn’t until they attended a few workshops and festivals in their high school years and saw some of their favorite artists performing live, that they girls began to take a strong interest in bluegrass music.  

Lauren holds the role of co-founder, mandolinist, and vocalist with ‘The Price Sisters’ band and most of her professional work in the music industry comes from within that position.  While still in college, Lauren and Leanna signed with Rebel Records, released an EP, and subsequently began touringas The Price Sisters.  The Sisters’ released their first full-length album for Rebel, “A Heart Never Knows” in spring of 2018.  The five-piece band to-date has performed at numerous venues and festivals across the United States, Canada, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Lauren has been an instructor at the Monroe Mandolin Camp, the DelFest Academy, Camp Bluegrass, Mandolin Camp North, Augusta Bluegrass Week, the Bobby Osborne Mandolin Roundup, and workshop-leader at various festivals where The Price Sisters have performed.  Lauren has also hosted or been guest on several virtual mandolin workishops including the Lousiville Folk School.  Lauren has worked as an Artist-in-Residence with the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum.  In June 2019, she was the featured for an interview on Mandolin Cafe.  In 2019, Lauren was nominated for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA) Momentum Vocalist of the Year, and in 2020, was nominated for Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year.  The Price Sisters have a debut album to be released February 16, 2024 on McCoury Music titled “Between the Lines”.

Mike Compton, Director

Befriended and mentored by Bill Monroe, the acknowledged Father of Bluegrass Music, Mike Compton is one of today’s foremost interpreters of Monroe’s genre-creating mandolin style. Compton’s mastery of mandolin is at once effortless and exceptional. A compelling entertainer either alone or with a group, his skills as a singer, arranger, instrumentalist, composer and accompanist also make him in-demand as a band member and ensemble player at festivals, clubs and concert halls, recording sessions, music workshops and as a private instructor.

Compton’s decades of touring and recording with musical luminaries ranging from rockstars Sting, Gregg Allman and Elvis Costello, to straight-fro-the-still acoustic legends like John Hartford, Doc Watson, Peter Rowan, Ralph Stanley and David Grisman, have established him as a true master of the modern American mandolin and a premier interpreter of roots and Americana musical styles. With over 140 CDS in his discography, Compton has helped keep mandolin a cool, relevant sound as the modern musical styles ebb and evolve to reach an every-broadening audience.

A native of Meridian, Mississippi, Compton picked up the mandolin in his teens and absorbed the area’s native blues, old-time country and bluegrass sounds. He soon gravitate to Nashville, where he helped found one of the 20th Century’s most admired and influential bluegrass groups, the iconic Nashville Bluegrass Band. He’s also been a part of the Hubert Davis Band, John Hartford Stringband, 1942, Compton & Newberry, and other seminal groups.

When A-list Americana producer T-Bone Burnett needed experts in authentic rural musical styles to anchor the landmark ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ movie project and subsequent tour, he called upon Compton’s unique knowledge and signature mandolin style to authenticate the Soggy Bottom Boys’ rootsy sound. That Grammy Award Album of the Year-winning album went on to sell seven million copies and sparked a global revival in old-time and bluegrass musical styles.

Connoisseur of hand-painted vintage silk ties, popularizer of the denim overall urban fashion statement, lover of iconic men’s hats and curator of oddball official days (ask him about National Lost Sock Memorial Day or National root Canal Appreciation Day), Mike Compton thrives at the intersection of traditional funk and modern authenticity.

Equally skilled in bluegrass, old-time string band music, country blues, roots Americana styles, and much more, Compton soars beyond easy categorization as n acoustic mandolin player and singer. Gifted at tastefully incorporating rural, roots-based learn and rhythm mandolin styles into modern Americana music, Compton’s unique musical skill set allows him to entertain audiences ranging from racers and urban hipsters to die-hard country, folk and bluegrass fans.

A mandolin master able to channel the Monroe-style playing better than anyone, Compton is a preservationist who continues teaching the music that Bill Monroe innovated, and which set the standard for generations of bluegrass mandolin players to come. For more information about Mike, visit his website at mikecompton.net