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

. 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 resp ...

, 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 person ...

and the Travelin' McCourys.

Biography

Rob McCoury was born in

York County, Pennsylvania York County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 456,438. Its county seat is York, Pennsylvania, ...

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 (December 7, 1931 – June 27, 2023), were an influential and popular bluegrass act during the 1960s and 1970s and until Sonny retired in 2005. They are probably b ...

play at Sunset 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, 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 Appalachian 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. Sh ...

, 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 Susquehannock High School is a mid-sized suburban public high school in Glen Rock, Pennsylvania. It is the sole high school operated by the Southern York County School District. In 2014, enrollment was reported as 946 pupils in 9th through 12th g ...

in 1989, and in 2009 he and his brother Ronnie both received 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 The ...

for Recorded Performance of the Year.

Personal life

Rob currently lives in

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 ...

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

Discography

Solo recordings

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

With Ronnie McCoury

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

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 Susquehannock High School alumni