Mandolin Master Class
January 24, 2009
Adam Steffey grew up playing mandolin in the Tri-Cities region of East Tennessee. He was first introduced to bluegrass music by his maternal grandfather, Fred Carter, who would take Adam to the Carter Fold in Hiltons,VA. There he became interested in the music and was especially intrigued by the sound of the mandolin.
Adam’s first full time playing position was with The Lonesome River Band in 1987. He was a member of this group for a year before helping to form Dusty Miller. While playing with Dusty Miller he became aquainted with a young Alison Krauss, with whom he worked for the next seven and a half years. In mid-2001, bluegrass group Mountain Heart called upon Adam to fill the vacant mandolin position and he was a part of their band for the next six and a half years.
Adam is also an in-demand session player and has recorded with numerous artists from various genres. He has received the mandolin player of the year award five times from the International Bluegrass Music Association, and is a Grammy award winner.