Big Country Bluegrass

Band · Active 1994–present · Independence, Virginia · bigcountrybluegrass.com
Traditional Bluegrass Contemporary Bluegrass

Big Country Bluegrass is one of the longest-running hard-traditional bluegrass bands in the Galax, Virginia area — a Stanley-Brothers and Jimmy-Martin-rooted act founded by Tommy and Teresa Sells in 1987 and still active on the festival circuit four decades later.

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  • Founded in 1987 by husband-and-wife team Tommy Sells (mandolin and emcee) and Teresa Sells (rhythm guitar and lead/tenor vocals); based in Independence, Virginia in the Galax / Blue Ridge corridor on the Virginia–North Carolina border.
  • The band's name is taken from a Jimmy Martin instrumental.
  • Recorded across more than thirty years of releases, beginning with self-produced albums in the 1990s, then a long run on Hay Holler Records (Blacksburg, Virginia) including Big Country Bluegrass (1997), Up in the High Country (1998), The Real Deal (2002), and Twenty Years of Grass (2007).
  • Signed with Rebel Records and released The Boys in Hats and Ties (2010), Memories of the Past (2013), Let Them Know I'm From Virginia (2017), and Mountains, Mamas and Memories (2019).
  • Charted five consecutive #1 songs on the Bluegrass Unlimited airplay chart over the Rebel-era catalog.
  • Anchored in the Galax tradition — tied to the Old Fiddler's Convention and the Crooked Road heritage music trail; won a Martha White contest in 1999 that earned them a Grand Ole Opry appearance.
  • Past and present members include Eddie Gill (guitar / lead vocals), Tony King (bass), Lynwood Lunsford (banjo, 2004–2016), Tim Laughlin (fiddle), John Treadway (banjo, since 2016), Daniel Martin (banjo, since 2023), and James King.
  • Teresa Sells
    Played on recordings with Big Country Bluegrass
  • Tommy Sells
    Played on recordings with Big Country Bluegrass
  • Alan Mastin
    Played on recordings with Big Country Bluegrass
  • Jimmy Trivette
    Played on recordings with Big Country Bluegrass
  • Billy Hawks
    Played on recordings with Big Country Bluegrass
  • Tim Lewis
    Played on recordings with Big Country Bluegrass
  • Jeff Michael
    Played on recordings with Big Country Bluegrass
  • Butch Lee
    Played on recordings with Big Country Bluegrass
  • Eddie Gill
    Played on recordings with Big Country Bluegrass
  • Lynwood Lunsford
    Played on recordings with Big Country Bluegrass
  • Tim Laughlin
    Played on recordings with Big Country Bluegrass
  • Tony King
    Played on recordings with Big Country Bluegrass
  • Travis Tritt
    Played on recordings with Big Country Bluegrass
  • John Treadway
    Played on recording with Big Country Bluegrass
  • Larry Pennington
    Played on recording with Big Country Bluegrass

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