Rob McCoury is an American bluegrass musician who plays

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 ...

. He is the son of bluegrass musician

Del McCoury Delano Floyd McCoury (born February 1, 1939) is an American bluegrass musician. As leader of the Del McCoury Band, he plays guitar and sings lead vocals along with his two sons, Ronnie McCoury and Rob McCoury, who play mandolin and banjo respec ...

, and is best known for his work with the

Del McCoury Band The Del McCoury Band is a Grammy award-winning American bluegrass band. History Originally the band was called Del McCoury and the Dixie Pals with Del on guitar and his brother Jerry on bass. The band went through a number of changes in personn ...

and the Travelin' McCourys.

Biography

Rob McCoury was born in

York County, Pennsylvania York County ( Pennsylvania Dutch: Yarrick Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 456,438. Its county seat is York. The county was created on August 19, 1749, from part of Lancaster ...

on April 30, 1971. He was exposed to bluegrass from a young age, through his father's band,

& The Dixie Pals. At the age of 8 he started playing the banjo after seeing

The Osborne Brothers The Osborne Brothers, Sonny (October 29, 1937 – October 24, 2021) and Bobby (born December 7, 1931), were an influential and popular bluegrass act during the 1960s and 1970s and until Sonny retired in 2005. They are probably best known for ...

play at Sunest Park in West Grove, PA. In 1986 at the age of 15 he played bass with his Dad's band for the first time at a festival in Bath, NY. He would play as the bassist for his Dad's band for the next year and half when the banjo spot opened up and he made the switch to his preferred instrument. His first show as a banjo player was in the spring of 1987 in Wilmington, DE at a benefit show for

Ola Belle Reed Ola Belle Reed (August 18, 1916 – August 16, 2002) was an American folk singer, songwriter and banjo player. Early life Reed was born Ola Wave Campbell in the unincorporated town of Grassy Creek, Ashe County, North Carolina, to Arthur Camp ...

, a singer/songwriter who penned one of his Dad's most requested songs, “High on the Mountain”, along with many others. He has been with the band ever since. McCoury graduated from Susquehannock High School in 1989, and in 2009 he and his brother Ronnie both won the High School's Distinguished Alumni Award. He was named the 2015

International Bluegrass Music Association The International Bluegrass Music Association, or IBMA, is a trade association to promote bluegrass music. Formed in 1985, IBMA established its first headquarters in Owensboro, Kentucky. In 1988 they announced plans to create the International ...

banjo player of the year in 2015.

Recordings

In 1995 Rob and his brother Ronnie released a self-titled CD on Rounder Records. The album won the 1996

International Bluegrass Music Awards The International Bluegrass Music Awards is an award show for bluegrass music presented by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA). Awards are voted based on professional membership in the IBMA. Award winners 2021 award winners Th ...

for Recorded Performance of the Year.

Personal life

Rob currently lives in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, Tennessee, with his wife Lisa, and their three children.

Discography

Solo recordings

*2014: ''The 5 String Flamethrower'' (

Rounder Rounder(s) or The Rounder(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Rounders'' (1914 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounder'' (1930 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounders'' (1965 film), a western comedy * ''Rounders'' (film), a 1998 poker f ...

)

With Ronnie McCoury

*1995: ''Ronnie & Rob McCoury'' (

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCoury, Rob American bluegrass musicians 1971 births Living people People from York County, Pennsylvania Country musicians from Pennsylvania The Travelin' McCourys members Del McCoury Band members