Wayne Henderson is a true American original. He is a world-class luthier as well as a world-class guitar player. And that makes him unquestionably the lone member of a club of one:
Stradivari and Paganini in a pair of glue-stained Carhartts. Wayne Henderson has played all over the world and in 1996 won a National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor bestowed upon traditional artists. But he’s still the same old Wayne, wearing the same ball cap and blue jeans whether he’s playing at Carnegie Hall or the potluck supper at the Rugby Rescue Squad.
Wayne Henderson’s guitar shop has become something of a social center – some would say a halfway house – where friends gather to watch, talk, and play music. And especially play music. It seems that almost everyone plays an instrument or sings, and everyone knows the same two dozen tunes. So whenever a few friends get together in the shop, it doesn’t take much encouragement for a jam to break out. And in this context, Wayne is a musical chameleon, straddling the very different aesthetics of bluegrass and old-time music.


GRAMMY nominee / 13-time International Bluegrass Music Association award winner / multiple performances on the Grand Ole Opry / a recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine
Darren Nicholson is a bluegrass and Americana musician based in Haywood County in the mountains of western North Carolina. The original mandolin player for Balsam Range, he's a Grammy nominee and a recipient of multiple International Bluegrass Music Association Awards, Darren has appeared countless times on WSM's Grand Ole Opry, at the Ryman Auditorium, CMT, GAC, and many of the world's most famous venues and networks. Currently, he records and tours as a full-time musician with the Darren Nicholson Band and all sorts of collaborative efforts each year. Darren is also renowned as a solo artist, session musician, and songwriter. https://www.darrennicholson.net/