Guitar 1, Beginning: Jesse Smathers is the guitar player and tenor singer, with The Lonesome River Band, is from Eden, North Carolina. He began playing the guitar at age 11, mandolin at 15, and In 2009 won the guitar championship of the Virginia Folk Music Association. In 2013, High Voltage, featuring Jesse as the lead vocalist, won first place in the bluegrass band category at the Galax Old Time Fiddler’s Convention. In 2015, LRB welcomed him to the group and in 2017, Jesse won the IBMA Momentum Award for Vocalist of the Year! Jesse comes from a long line of musicians. His grandfather, Harold Smathers, and grand Uncle Luke Smathers, recorded for June Appal and were awarded the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award in 1993 for their contributions to North Carolina Folk Music.

Guitar 2, Backup/Simple Leads: Danny Arthur is a resident of the Barboursville area of Cabell County, West Virginia. Already well known as an established backup and lead guitar player and singer for the “Bing Brothers Band”, Danny has come into his own as an outstanding old time fiddler. He has taught and performed at Appalshop, Augusta Heritage Workshops, the Vandalia Gathering, the Wheatland Music Festival, and in Ireland and Scotland.

Guitar 3, Intermediate/Advanced: Dustin Benson was raised in Jasper, Alabama, where he “grew up” on bluegrass music. His father taught him to play the guitar when he was 12 years old; he began playing the mandolin at 16 and joined his father’s band as the mandolin player at 17. Dustin has played and toured with many bands in the world of bluegrass music. He was nominated for Guitar Player of the Year by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America in 2010. He joined The Special Consensus in 2011. In 2012, the band received a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album. He has recorded with artists such as Rhonda Vincent, John Cowan, Michael Cleveland, Jason Carter, Gena Britt, and Rob Ickes. Most recently he enjoyed a stint with Don Rigsby and the Fly By Knights.

Guitar 4, Advanced: Robin Kessinger, from St. Albans, West Virginia, was the National Flatpicking Champion on guitar in 1985 and 1988. Robin also won the Best Overall Performer at Galax, Virginia. He is the son of mandolin great Bob Kessinger and the great-nephew of fiddle legend Clark Kessinger. His adaptations of fiddle tunes have amazed audiences across the U.S. and in Ireland. “Contest Favorites” with Wayne Henderson, “Star of County Down” with Steve Kaufman, and “Breakfast of Champions” with Robert Shafer are among his audio offerings. Robin’s class will concentrate on