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Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder will be at Wintergrass 2012 on Friday only. Ricky Skaggs has been a professional performer while still in his teens. Ricky played as a duet with the late Keith Whitley playing Stanley Brothers style bluegrass. In 1971 Ricky & Keith both joined Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys and from then on it was one great band after another. Fiddle and mandolin with J.D. Crowe and the New South,Boone Creek,The Whites, Emmylou Harris’s Hot Band and eventually Ricky formed his own award winning country band. Ricky played country music for quite awhile before forming Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder in 1997. Ricky and the band have been nominated for 12 Grammys and have won 8.
Check out Ricky’s site for lots more info on him and Kentucky Thunder.
Ricky’s band Kentucky Thunder is comprised of some of the best singers and pickers in bluegrass.

Paul Brewster on guitar and vocals was a member of the Knoxville Grass and spent 10 years with the Osborne Brothers and brief stints with the Pinnacle Boys and Dollywood bluegrass band, True Blue, he was asked to become a member of Kentucky Thunder. In addition to lending his unmistakable tenor to countless Ricky Skaggs albums, Brewster is also an accomplished songwriter and solo artist. In 2001, he teamed up with band-mate Mark Fain to co-produce Everybody’s Talkin’, his first solo project for Skaggs Family Records.

Andy Leftwich on fiddle is a former Tennessee State Fiddle Championship. Andy has performed at Wintergrass with his side project Three Ring Circle with Rob Ickes of Blue Highway and bassist Dave Pomeroy. Andy’s fiddle and mandolin are always in demand as a Nashville session player.

Cody Kilby on guitar ,picked up his dad’s banjo at age 8 and had a Gibson Banjo endorsement by the time he was 11. He started playing his mom’s guitar at 10, and by 17, he was the National Flatpicking Champion. He added mandolin and dobro at around age 13, and at 16, recorded Just Me, showing his mastery of each instrument on the recording.

Eddie Faris turned a childhood dream into reality by accepting Ricky’s invitation to join Kentucky Thunder in 2009. At the age of 9 years old, while attending a Ricky Skaggs concert, he pointed to former band member guitarist Darrin Vincent and said he wanted his job. Eddie grew up in Kansas, and was a member in his family’s band, the Faris Family Bluegrass Band, for 12 years. As a member of Kentucky Thunder, he is a baritone vocalist and plays the guitar.

Justin Moses on banjo, a founding member of the band Sierra Hull & Highway 111, In 2006, Justin’s solo instrumental album, Dusty Roads, was released to many favorable reviews. Making his Grand Ole Opry debut in 2008, he has become an in-demand session player, appearing on 2009’s IBMA Album of the Year and Grammy-nominated album, Wheels. Justin has spent time with bands Blue Moon Rising, NewFound Road, the Dan Tyminski Band, and now has found a new home with Kentucky Thunder.

three-ring-3

This trio is playing Wintergrass 2009 in a rare performance. The reason they don’t play many shows would be that they are kept busy with their “day jobs”. Dobro player Rob Ickes tours with Blue Highway, fiddle and mandolinist Andy Leftwitch tours with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder and bassist Dave Pomeroy is busy with his work playing sessions in Nashville. The trio has one cd titled Three Ring Circle showcasing their instrumental skills.

Rob is a 7 time IBMA Dobro Player of the Year with 4 solo albums to his credit and a founding member of Blue Highway and plays on all of their releases. Rob also played on the Grammy Award winning “Great Dobro Sessions” He also spend time when not on the road playing sessions for a variety of artists including Patty Loveless, Earl Scruggs and Alison Krauss.

Andy has a Grammy Award for his playing on Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunders album “History of The Future” Andy has one solo CD “Ride”. Andy is also an IBMA winner with the other members of Kentucky Thunder in the Instrumental Group of the Year category.

Dave has played on over 400 albums and six Grammy winning CDs with artists such as Emmylou Harris, The Chieftains, Elton John, Earl Scruggs and Alison Krauss. He has performed live with dozens of major artists including Duane Eddy, John Fogerty, Steve Winwood, and Mose Allison. He has been voted “Studio Musician of The Year” and “Bassist of The Year” at the Nashville Music Awards. He has released 7 albums on Earwave Records, including his solo CDs “Basses Loaded” and “Tomorrow Never Knows.”

Rob Ickes-Dobro, Andy Leftwich- mandolin,fiddle, Dave Pomeroy-bass