Ryan Holladay

Multi-instrumentalist Ryan Holladay first performed on Nashville's historic Grand Ole Opry at the tender age of 5 years old, and is credited with being the youngest performer to grace that revered stage.

Ryan is now fifteen and has already released three albums. He has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show's "World's Most Talented Kids" episode, Nickelodeon's "Figure It Out," and PBS's "Zoom." Largely self-taught, his lightning-fast fingers are equally nimble on the banjo and mandolin, and he plays the guitar and Dobro as well. It all started at his granddad's house, when Ryan - little more than a toddler at the time - started listening to Flatt & Scruggs records. "The first time I heard Earl Scruggs play the banjo, I knew I wanted to play - I thought it sounded really, really cool," he remembers.

His parents Mark and Lisa were very supportive, taking him to festivals and encouraging him to sing. When he first met the Opry's Mike Snider at a festival in Camden, Tenn. (Ryan's hometown), the precocious 5-year old said, "Hi, I'm Ryan Holladay and I sing tenor." Snider later invited the half-pint picker on the Opry, where he presented Ryan with the Brian Friesen award - a new Deering banjo - on Dec. 21, 1997. The beaming little boy sang a couple of songs and has since been invited back to the Opry more than a dozen times.

Ryan has opened shows for acoustic supergroup Nickel Creek and country great Roy Clark, and performed with some of the best acts in the bluegrass business including the Lonesome River Band, Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, the Mike Snider Band, Jimbo Whaley and many more. He counts Chris Thile and Sammy Shelor as his current musical influences. The legendary Tom T. and Dixie Hall have been avid supporters of the bluegrass prodigy for a long time.

Ricky Skaggs distinctly remembers hearing Ryan sing backstage at a bluegrass festival and was astounded at his talent. "I think he was in his father's arms, and he just blew me away," recalls Skaggs. "That's the kind of talent I want to see here at Skaggs Family Records. "Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley helped me as a young player, and we're always looking for the next young talent, to give them a chance."

Skaggs Family Records released Ryan's album New Kid in Town in 2005. It opens with the sizzling instrumental "Boston Boy" - a song Ryan heard while listening to Ricky's music. "The first time I heard the song on his album Ancient Tones I liked it a lot," Ryan says. "We started doing it live in shows."

The Ryan Holladay Band includes his father Mark (vocals, guitar), fiddler extraordinaire Tyler Andal and newest band member, Ronnie Owen (bass).. The band tours internationally including a recent tour with country group Trick Pony in Japan. In 2005,, Ryan and Tyler were selected to perform in a historic concert presented by The Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall in New York. This distance learning event connected 400 New York City high school students with 200 of their counterparts in New Delhi, India. Ryan and Tyler took part in a question and answer session as well as performing for their Indian counterparts via a live video feed. Ryan will make his second appearance at Carnegie Hall in 2007.

Currently a junior high school student, Ryan is an active participant in Bluegrass in the Schools programs that help promote bluegrass music to American youths. He also co-hosted, along with Sierra Hull, the new International Bluegrass Music Association's DVD entitled Discover Bluegrass that introduces young viewers to the American genre of acoustic roots music.

Last year was the 3rd Annual Ryan Holladay Bluegrass Festival held in Camden, Tennessee. "I'm glad it's in Benton County so all my friends can come to it. It's good to know that people in your county are supporting you," Ryan says. "I always wanted to play music, and I think that's what I was meant to do."

"Nineteen year old Tyler Andal has been playing fiddle since 2000. He is from White House, Tennessee and loves playing several Silakowski five-string fiddles. He is a senior Recording Production and Technology major and Music Industry minor at Middle Tennessee State University. He graduates December 2007.

His style of fiddling that includes funky chopping has been greatly influenced by fiddle teacher Casey Driessen. His favorite fiddlers are Casey Driessen, Michael Cleveland, Aubrey Haynie, Darol Anger, John Hartford, Buddy Spicher, Daniel Carwile, and Jim Wood. "I learned by watching other fiddlers and going to contests, fiddle camps, festivals, and jams." He also plays the mandolin, guitar, old-time banjo and upright bass.

Tyler's performances have included such places as Carnegie Hall, The Grand Ole Opry, The Country Music Hall of Fame, Woodsongs, The Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Blair School of Music, many festivals and contests. He opened the 2006 MYO season as a guest soloist with works commissioned for him by Jim Wood and funded by the TN Arts Commission. He performed in IBMA's 2002 Youth Workshop and was a member of the IBMA 2003 Youth All Star Bluegrass Band. He loves to compete in music competitions and two of his favorite titles won include the 2005 Tennessee State Fiddle champion for his age category and the 2003 Indiana State Mandolin Champion. More information may be found at his website: www.tylerandal.com

RONNIE OWEN grew up in and around Jackson, TN, and at eight years of age, he had an interest in playing and singing country music. His early influences were Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard. Ronnie played country and Southern rock music until 1977, when he met a young beginner banjo player named Mike Snider. Ronnie recalls, “That was my first encounter with bluegrass and I liked it.” Ronnie and Mike Snider met Charlie Derrington and Rick Taylor, and the four men began tossing around ideas about putting a band together. Cross Country, which formed in 1978, was the band that erupted from that first meeting. The band played hard-driving bluegrass with beautiful, tight harmony work in their vocal numbers.

In 1981, Ronnie took the chance to join the award-winning Memphis-based Tennessee Gentlemen, when the founder, Troy Castleberry, needed a vocalist and electric bass player in a hurry. Ronnie went to work on the band’s material and learned the bass in about a week’s time. Ronnie worked with the band for about two years. He married the former Lisa Baumgardner in 1982, and they wanted to work at raising their family, so Ronnie left the Tennessee Gentlemen in 1983. Ronnie and Lisa’s children are Lucas, now 22, and Cera, who is 17 years old.

Bluegrass music has a way of hanging around in a musician’s head,. Ronnie was no different. He began playing again at local jam sessions in and around Jackson, TN. He played briefly with several local bands, and when he had the opportunity, he went for his life-long dream—he opened The Stables Recording Studio, where he offers a variety of services to bands and individual performers who wish to record their music.

When Mark Holladay called Ronnie in December of 2006, Ronnie felt another change coming in his life. The Ryan Holladay band needed a vocalist and bass player, and Ronnie went over to work with the band members to see if they fit together. The offer was made, and Ronnie began playing with the Ryan Holladay Band in January of 2007.