​It wasn’t long before Ronnie Bowman became a household name in the Bluegrass community. With the release of an additional four albums as a member of the Lonesome River Band, Ronnie also recorded four solo projects. He has been awarded IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year three times, has twice earned the IBMA song of the Year award (“Three Rusty Nails”, and “Cold Virginia Night”), and was awarded the Gospel Performance of the Year award for “Three Rusty Nails”. As a songwriter Ronnie has earned a great deal of respect not only among Bluegrass professionals, but also in Country Music. Both Brooks & Dunn, and Kenny Chesney have brought Ronnie Bowman originals to #1, and Lee Ann Womack also included a song by Ronnie on the multiplatinum selling album “I hope you Dance”.

He has seen continued songwriting success with three songs on Chris Stapleton’s multiplatinum selling album “Traveller”. The single “Nobody To Blame” won Ronnie the ACM “Song of the Year”. The album received the ACM and CMA “Album of the Year” award as well as a Grammy for “Country Album of the Year”.

Ronnie Bowman has achieved remarkable heights in his musical career as an award-winning Bluegrass songwriter and vocalist, as well as being an award-winning songwriter in Country music. Continuing to play the festivals that endear him to the music he loves–and has contributed so much to over the years–remains an important focal point for him.

Later, Don befriended two of Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys: Ricky Skaggs (Don’s cousin) and Keith Whitley. He learned guitar at age 12, then fiddle, dulcimer, and mandolin.

While attending Morehead State University, Don was a member of TruGrass, and then in 1987, he joined Charlie Sizemore’s bluegrass band and stayed for two years. When he graduated in 1990, Don moved to Nashville and joined Vern Gosdin’s road band. Don’s first national exposure was with Bluegrass Cardinals from 1991 until 1993, then he joined J. D. Crowe and the New South from 1993 until 1995.

Don joined the Lonesome River Band when Dan Tyminski left the band. Don stayed for six years and appeared on three of their albums: One Step Forward (1996), Finding The Way (1998), and Talkin’ To Myself (2000). The band included Don, Ronnie Bowman, Sammy Shelor, and Kenny Smith.

When John Duffey suddenly died, Don filled in with the Seldom Scene. He was also part of the band Longview, with Dudley Connell and James King. The band released three albums: Longview (1997), High Lonesome (1999), and Lessons In Stone (2002). Other members included Joe Mullins (banjo), Glen Duncan (fiddle), and Marshall Wilborn (bass). Don and Connell sang Stanley Brothers-style high-baritone harmonies behind King.

Don’s first solo album A Vision, released in 1999, was a collection of bluegrass gospel music. J. D. Crowe, Ralph Stanley, Sammy Shelor, Roy Huskey Jr., and Ricky Skaggs provide support. The album won the Association of Independent Music’s Gospel Album of the Year award. He also received the 1999 Bluegrass Now Magazine Fans’ Choice Award for Vocal Tenor of the Year, and the 2001 Governor’s Kentucky Star Award.

In 2000, the title track from the album Empty Old Mailbox won the 2001 SPBGMA Song of the Year award. Guest artists on the album included Jerry Douglas, Tim Stafford, Stuart Duncan, J. D. Crowe, and Larry Sparks.

Don recorded two albums with Dudley Connell (The Seldom Scene) in the Appalachian brother duet style: Meet Me By The Moonlight (1999) and Another Saturday Night (2001).

In 2001 Don accepted a director position at the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music at Morehead State University. He remastered a series of local radio shows hosted more than three decades ago by Ricky Skaggs and Keith Whitley to be released on Sugar Hill. He also taught vocal harmony and folk/country music listening.

Rock County was formed by Don in 2001. Other members included Glen Duncan (fiddle), Dale Vanderpool (banjo) Ray Craft (guitar), and Robin Smith (bass). They released two albums: Rock County (2002) and Rock Solid (2003). In 2003, Vanderpool was replaced by Scott Vestal, and Ray Craft was replaced by Keith Tew. The band broke up in 2004.

2003’s The Midnight Call featured Jim Hurst (guitar), Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Carl Jackson, Rob McCoury (mandolin), Kenny Malone (percussion), and Vassar Clements.

In 2006, Don released Hillbilly Heartache, his first album as the leader of his new band Midnight Call. The band includes Shayne Bartley (guitar), Jesse Wells (fiddle), Robert Maynard (bass), and Dale Vanderpool (banjo).

In 2010, Don left the program at Morehead State to pursue music full time. He released Doctor’s Orders: A Tribute to Ralph Stanley. Stanley appears on the album, as do former Clinch Mountain Boys Larry Sparks, Ricky Skaggs, Charlie Sizemore, Steve Sparkman and Stanley’s lead guitarist, James Alan Shelton.

In 2016, Don and David Thom collaborated on the album New Territory which also featured Peter Rowan, Randy Kohrs, and Tim Crouch. Also in 2016, Don formed Flashback, a band consisting of former members of The New South. The band consists of Don, Richard Bennett (guitar, lead vocals), Phil Leadbetter (resonator guitar), and Curt Chapman (bass). The band name was inspired by the title of the album J. D. Crowe released in 1995.

Production and session work
Don produced the album 40 by Larry Sparks, which in 2005 was awarded Recorded Event of the Year and Album of the Year by the IBMA.

Don sang on Alan Jackson’s The Bluegrass Album in 2013, and a tour with Jackson included an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman on CBS.

Personal life
Don still lives in his hometown of Isonville, KY with his daughter and son.

Kenny began playing professionally with Claire Lynch and the Front Porch Stringband in 1993. In 1996, he joined Sammy Shelor, Don Rigsby, and Ronnie Bowman as a member of The Lonesome River Band, replacing Tim Austin. While a part of this group, he won the International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA) Guitarist of the Year award in 1999 and 2000.

Kenny and Amanda Smith Band
Kenny met his future wife Amanda at a Lonesome River Band concert, where she gave Kenny a tape of her music. They decided to collaborate, and then decided to marry.

Their first album Slowly But Surely in 2001 was recorded when Kenny was still with the Lonesome River Band and Amanda was working a day job. The album was popular enough to be listed on the bluegrass charts, and the Smiths decided to form the Kenny and Amanda Smith Band. They won the IBMA’s Emerging Artist of the Year award in 2003.

In 2004, they released the album House Down the Block. Ronald Inscore played mandolin, Steve Huber played banjo, and Greg Martin played bass. The Kenny and Amanda Smith Band released Live and Learn in 2008, along with Zachary McLamb (bass), Aaron Williams (mandolin), and Ron Stewart (fiddle, banjo). On their album Unbound they were assisted by Wayne Winkle (vocals), Kyle Perkins (bass), Jacob Burleson (mandolin), and Justin Jenkins (banjo). The lead single “You Know That I Would” stayed at the No. 1 spot for consecutive weeks on the Bluegrass Today Weekly Airplay charts.

Solo recordings
Kenny’s debut solo album Studebaker was released in 1997, featuring Amanda Smith (vocals), Barry Bales (bass), Adam Steffey (mandolin), Sammy Shelor (banjo), Don Rigsby, Daniel Carwile (fiddle) and Ronnie Bowman. On his 2011 album Return, Smith employed a variety of vintage guitars: his 1935 Martin D-18, Norman Blake’s sunburst 1933 D-28, and a Gibson 1935 jumbo prototype. Musicians on the album included Bales, Steffey, Aubrey Haynie (fiddle), Jim Denman (banjo), and Adam Hurt (clawhammer banjo). Glenn Tabor co-produced the album with Smith.

Band of Ruhks
Kenny is a founding member of Band Of Ruhks, along with Don Rigsby and Ronnie Bowman. During a Lonesome River Band reunion performance, all three discovered a mutual longing to once again perform together. Band of Ruhks released a self-titled album in 2015. The Ruhks added Brian Fesler on banjo and released their second album Authentic in October 2019.

Music instruction
Kenny has taught at guitar workshops and master classes. In 2004, AcuTab Publications released his Tunes and Techniques, a two-DVD instruction set. In 2017, he launched KennySmithGuitar.com, with instructional videos, product reviews, interviews with other musicians, and information about classic vintage guitars. Guitar lessons are priced based on length, but all other content is free to view.

Personal life
Kenny lives in Lebanon, Tennessee with his wife Amanda and their daughter Annabelle.

After running the gamut of family band through regional bands in his home state of Iowa, he was off to Nashville where he soon found himself an endorsing artist for the Gibson Guitar Company.

Then it was on to Ferrum, Virginia where in 1987 he took over the banjo spot in the Lonesome River Band. He worked under bandleader Tim Austin and co-founder Jerry McMillan, and had the honor to work with two of the finest musicians and people around, Adam Steffey and later Dan Tyminski.

The fall of 1988 brought new excitement as Brian and Adam joined with Tim Stafford, Barry Bales and Tammy Rogers in the new band, Dusty Miller. Dusty Miller immediately performed at a 1988 IBMA showcase, and began touring nationally. Two recordings were released, the self-titled debut on June Appal records, and a project known simply as “The White Tape.”

After winning the 1990 SPBGMA International Band Contest, Dusty Miller toured into the summer, then played its final show to an audience at the 1990 Nashville Fan Fest. Brian played shows with David Harvey (Wild & Blue), Gary Brewer & the Kentucky Ramblers, and the Charlie Sizemore band. Brian says, “Performing with Charlie Sizemore was one of the highlights of my career. He’s one of the best singers and performers in the history of Bluegrass, and a gentleman as well.”

In 1991 Brian reloacted to the Twin Cities area, where he performed with area talent such as the Christensen Sisters and Monroe Crossing. He’s been featured on numerous artists’ recording projects, including Chris Silver, fiddler Brian Wicklund and Wisconsin favorite Highwater. He has also recorded with bands outside of the traditional bluegrass vein, such as Taconite Haven, Arcana 81, Spy Mob and the Lorie Line Pop Orchestra.

In January 2002, Brian became a regular member of Becky Schlegel’s touring group, and in 2005 appeared on her album Drifter Like Me. From 2007-2010, Brian and Becky co-produced four albums for Becky on the Lilly Ray Records label, achieving international acclaim for 2008’s “For All The World To See” after it was picked up by IGO Records out of Nashville.

Brian went on to be producer or executive producer on several albums by Minnesota-based artists, which led to an executive producer role in several re-releases for major artists, including Bobby Bare and a Vern Gosdin gospel album reissue. He is most honored to have been executive producer and distributor of J.D. Crowe’s first authorized release of “Holiday in Japan,” a 2-disc set that was originally bootlegged into the U.S. after the New South’s famous 1975 tour.

From 2013-2016, Brian spent most of his musical time performing in church or teaching in the lesson room at the Nashville Music Academy. He finds reward in teaching and helping players reach new levels. Asked about this time period, he says, “I’ve played with the best of the best and was just waiting for the right time to play with the right people.”

That time came in January 2017, when the Band of Ruhks were ready for a new banjo player. They hit it off on the first day, and he’s been with them ever since.

He is currently living in Nashville and preparing for a new solo CD release.