October

Who is this high-singing mandolin player and his band?

Hailing from Virginia, the leader (pictured at far left) of this foursome cut his musical teeth in the Washington, D.C., area with the likes of Cliff Waldron and Leon Morris. Later, he played mandolin and sang tenor with the Bluegrass Cardinals and Bill Harrell and the Virginians.

In 1989 he formed his own band and, three years later, relocated to Nashville, and has been headquartered there ever since.

After releasing 18 albums on Pinecastle Records during an 18-year-stint with the label, the group recently signed with the Nashville-based Compass Records.

Significant October dates in bluegrass history

• 2nd: Earl Scruggs was involved in a serious auto accident (1955)
• 7th: Bill Monroe recorded "Mule Skinner Blues" (1940)
• 10th: Sammy Shelor, longtime banjoist for the Lonesome River Band, was born (1962)
• 15th: Bill Monroe recorded "Uncle Pen" (1950)
• 16th: Don Reno died (1984)
• 22nd: First Rounder Records LP released (1970) and Maybelle Carter died (1978)
• 23rd: Merle Watson, Doc's guitar-playing son, died in a farming accident (1985)
• 27th: Joe Mullins, formerly of the Traditional Grass, now a Radio Rambler, was born (1965)