Amy Speace


 Beth Nielsen Chapman


 Danny Schmidt


 Doug & Telisha Williams


 Jonathan Byrd


 Michael Johnathon


 Nora Jane Struthers


 Rita Hosking


 Ronny Cox


 Rosie Flores


 Terri Hendrix


 The Steel Wheels


 The Waymores

Jonathan Byrd

"Jonathan Byrd is one of the Top 50 songwriters of the last 50 years." - Rich Warren of WFTM in the Chicago Tribune.  Others in the Top 50 include Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Leonard Cohen, John Prine, Pete Seeger, Joni Mitchell and Townes Van Zandt.

A native North Carolinian, Jonathan Byrd grew up singing in the Southern Baptist church, where his father preached and his mother played piano. After four years in the Navy, he returned to home to play in rock bands. It was at an old-time fiddle festival in the mountains of southwest Virginia where his writing began to change. Assimilating the sounds of southern traditional music, Byrd wrote new songs in an ancient style.

One of those first songs was "Velma," a murder ballad based on the true story of Velma Barfield, the last woman to be executed in North Carolina, and the murderer of Jonathan's own grandfather. The song so moved folk music legend Tom Paxton that he wrote: "What a treat to hear someone so deeply rooted in tradition, yet growing in his own beautiful way."

In 2003, he was named a Kerrville New Folk winner, the most prestigious award in the singer-songwriter world.  Previous Kerrville competitors include Nanci Griffith, Lyle Lovett and Steve Earle.

“Jonathan Byrd doesn’t sing songs; he sings truth,” Mare Wakefield in Performing Songwriter.

“This rootsy North Carolinian may be the most buzzed-about new songwriter in folkdom.  He displays John Prine's gift for stark little songs that tell big, complex stories, Guy Clark's lean melodicism, Lyle Lovett's wry mischief, and Bill Morrissey's knack for the revealing image.” Scott Alarik in the Boston Globe

"I thought I was listening to a young Doc Watson."  Jay Moulon in Southeast Performer Magazine

"Jonathan's delightful, substantive songs are rich with imagery and textures of influences from Appalachian, country, early American balladry and old timey folk music. A stalwart of modern folk music, Jonathan is constantly evolving in new musical directions and each incarnation has proven to be masterful.”  Uncle Calvin's Coffeehouse, Dallas, TX

"What a treat to hear someone so deeply rooted in tradition, yet growing in his own beautiful way."  Tom Paxton