Mike Snider (born May 5, 1961) is an American banjo player and humorist. He specialized in "old-time" mountain music which is a stylistic that can be traced back to the core beginnings of country music. He learned to play

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

at the age of 16. Although he is well known for comedic routine, he is a well respected banjo player. Much of his comedy is based on stories about his wife, Sabrina, referred to as Sweetie.

Musical career

In 1983 Snider won the National Banjo Championship, at the

Walnut Valley Festival The Walnut Valley Festival is an acoustic music festival held annually in Winfield, Kansas, United States. The main genre of music is bluegrass, but a wide variety of other acoustic styles are represented. The festival is held on the Wednesday ...

, Winfield, Kansas. He was asked to appear on the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

as a guest artist in 1984. On June 2, 1990 he was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry, by country comedian

Minnie Pearl Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon (October 25, 1912 – March 4, 1996), known professionally as her stage character Minnie Pearl, was an American comedian who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years (1940–1991) and on the televisio ...

. He was a cast member on the variety show ''

Hee Haw ''Hee Haw'' is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired first-run on CBS from 1969 to 1971, in syndication from 1971 to 1993, and on TNN from 199 ...

'' from 1990–1996. From 1991–1998 Snider performed at

Opryland USA Opryland USA (later called Opryland Themepark and colloquially "Opryland") was a theme park in suburban Nashville, Tennessee. It operated seasonally (generally March to October) from 1972 to 1997, and for a special Christmas-themed engagement eve ...

. Snider still performs regularly on the Grand Ole Opry.

Personal life

Snider lives in

Gleason, Tennessee Gleason is a town in Weakley County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,445 at the 2010 census. The city also holds the annual Tater Town Parade and festival in the fall, and the Hometown Christmas event. The Ladies High School basketb ...

. He is married to Sabrina Snider. The couple has two children, Katie Lynn and Blake.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snider, Mike Living people Grand Ole Opry members 1961 births American banjoists American humorists People from Weakley County, Tennessee