James Bryan Sutton (born 1973) is an American

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

. Primarily known as a

flatpicking Flatpicking (or simply picking) is the technique of striking the strings of a guitar with a pick (also called a plectrum) held between the thumb and one or two fingers. It can be contrasted to fingerstyle guitar, which is playing with indi ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

player, Sutton also plays

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

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 in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

, and

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

. He also sings and writes songs.

Biography

Early career

Sutton's grandfather and father were regionally recognized fiddlers, and Sutton grew up playing in the family band, the Pisgah Pickers. In 1991, he played guitar for Karen Peck and New River, a gospel group. In 1993, he moved to

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

Ricky Skaggs

Sutton first came to prominence in 1997 as lead guitarist in Ricky Skaggs' band

Kentucky Thunder Kentucky Thunder, or Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, is the band that plays with American country and bluegrass singer Ricky Skaggs. Many members of the band have won numerous awards. Bandleader Ricky Skaggs plays mandolin and is the lea ...

when Skaggs returned to bluegrass. Sutton eventually left the band to focus on session work.

Hot Rize

Bryan was asked to join the bluegrass quartet Hot Rize in 2002. He has toured and recorded with them ever since, and has only missed one show since they re-formed.

Session work and touring

In addition to Skaggs and Hot Rize, Sutton has toured with the

Dixie Chicks The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. The band consists of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and Emily Stra ...

Jerry Douglas Gerald Calvin Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. He is widely regarded as "perhaps the finest Dobro player in contemporary acoustic music, and certainly the most celebrated and prol ...

, Sam Bush,

Béla Fleck Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, playing music from bluegrass, jazz, classical, rock and various ...

, Hot Rize,

Chris Thile Christopher Scott Thile (; born February 20, 1981) is an American mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and radio personality, best known for his work in the progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek and the acoustic folk and progressive blue ...

, Tony Rice and others. In 2007-08, Sutton toured with

& The How to Grow a Band, a project which later turned into the Punch Brothers. Bryan is one of the most in-demand session players in Nashville, and recently produced a record for Della Mae and the Cash Cabin. His style is a unique blend of staccato mixed with powerful chromatic and melodic movements which is integrated into the more common bluegrass, blues and folk leads that are common to the genre.

Other projects

In June, 2011 he launched th
Online Bluegrass Guitar School with Bryan Sutton
as part of the ArtistWorksbr>Academy of Bluegrass
In 2013, Sutton recorded the album ''Ready for the Times'' with T. Michael Coleman and David Holt. They recorded the album as a tribute to

Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. He won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. His ...

. The trio got together in 2011, and have performed frequently under the name Deep River Rising.

Recordings

For ''Almost Live'', Sutton was joined by 17 guest musicians, including

(banjo),

(resonator guitar), Russ Barenberg (guitar), Chris Thile (mandolin), and

Stuart Duncan Stuart Ian Duncan (born April 14, 1964) is an American bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo. Life Duncan was born in Quantico, Virginia, and raised in Santa Paula, California, where he played in the school ...

(fiddle). Sutton's album ''Into My Own'' featured guests Bill Frisell (guitar), Ronnie McCoury (mandolin), and Noam Pikelny (banjo). On 2016's ''The More I Learn'', Sutton continued to develop and showcase his singing and songwriting skills. The album prominently features Bryan Sutton Band members Casey Campbell (mandolin), Mike Barnett (fiddle), and Sam Grisman (bass).

Awards

*2000 - IBMA Guitar Player of the Year *2003 - IBMA Guitar Player of the Year *2004 - IBMA Guitar Player of the Year *2005 - IBMA Guitar Player of the Year *2006 - IBMA Guitar Player of the Year *2007 - Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance for ''Whiskey Before Breakfast'' w/ Doc Watson. The song was recorded using 3 vintage Neumann microphones and a laptop in a Colorado hotel room by Engineer Phil Harris. *2011 - IBMA Guitar Player of the Year *2013 - IBMA Guitar Player of the Year *2014 - IBMA Guitar Player of the Year *2014 - ''Into My Own'' was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Bluegrass Album category *2015 - IBMA Guitar Player of the Year *2016 - IBMA Guitar Player of the Year

Gear

Bryan support
Bourgeois Guitars
and performs regularly with his own signature model,
Bourgeois Bryan Sutton Limited Edition
He also uses a Bourgeois
Country Boy Deluxe
" model

dreadnought The dreadnought was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an effect when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", ...

, and a Bourgeois
Banjo Killer
" slope-shouldered dreadnought, which is another model directly inspired by Bryan. He also regularly performs with a 1940

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

D-28.

Discography

References

External links

BryanSutton.com, Official site
* *
Online Bluegrass Guitar School with Bryan Sutton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, Bryan Bluegrass musicians from North Carolina American country guitarists American country singer-songwriters Grammy Award winners Living people Resonator guitarists American country banjoists 1973 births American acoustic guitarists American male guitarists American bluegrass mandolinists Musicians from Asheville, North Carolina Guitarists from North Carolina American session musicians 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters Country musicians from North Carolina 21st-century American guitarists Punch Brothers members Hot Rize members Kentucky Thunder members American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from North Carolina