Dry Branch Fire Squad
Classic Bluegrass
Dry Branch Fire Squad is one of the most distinctive and long-running bluegrass acts in the Rounder Records catalog — a band built around mandolinist Ron Thomason's deep-traditional repertoire, wry storytelling, and commitment to “bluegrass with the bark left on.” Named for a Dickinson County, Virginia community, they have served as host band of the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival since 1984 and have performed at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass every year since 2003.
- Founded in 1976 by Ron Thomason, formerly of Ralph Stanley's Clinch Mountain Boys, with guitarist John Baker, banjo player Robert Leach, and bassist John Carpenter.
- Signed with Rounder Records in 1981 (Wikipedia says 1978; Apple Music 1981) and stayed for their entire label career — over three decades and more than a dozen albums.
- Mary Jo Leet joined on guitar and vocals in 1978, eventually joined by husband Charlie Leet on bass; this four-piece core defined the band's middle period.
- Key Rounder albums: Born to Be a Bachelor, Good Neighbors & Friends (1985), Golgotha (1986, gospel), Fannin' the Flames, Long Journey, Just for the Record (featuring Suzanne Thomas on harmonies and A.P. Carter, Carter Stanley, and John Prine material), Live! At Last (1996), Memories That Bless and Burn, and Thirtieth Anniversary Special (2006).
- Banjoist Bill Evans (later an influential solo and teaching artist) played with the band for several years. Singer Suzanne Thomas brought a strong old-time sensibility during her long tenure.
- Began hosting the Winterhawk Bluegrass Festival in 1984, which later became Grey Fox — the premier Northeast bluegrass gathering. Also host the High Mountain Hay Fever festival in Westcliffe, Colorado, a benefit for a local medical clinic.
- Repertoire spans Carter Family, Stanley Brothers, Monroe, Reno & Smiley, traditional gospel, cowboy songs, Civil War material, Stephen Foster, and Appalachian ballads. One reviewer described them as “a tour-bus version of the Smithsonian Institution.”
- Thomason's between-song monologues — on North-South culture, knife fighting, rural Virginia life — have become as famous as the music. His “Bluegrass Court Jester” documentary film (2017) explored his role as a bluegrass philosopher.
- Long-time members Brian Aldridge and Dan Russell retired at end of 2015. Current lineup (as of most recent tours) includes Thomason (mandolin), Adam McIntosh (guitar), Tom Boyd (banjo), and Evan Lanier (banjo/guitar/mandolin/fiddle).
- The band has resisted every modernizing trend in bluegrass — no drums, no electric instruments, no contemporary covers. Thomason has said they are “more aggressively traditional than ever before.”
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Ron ThomasonPlayed on recordings with Dry Branch Fire Squad
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Dan RussellPlayed on recordings with Dry Branch Fire Squad
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John BakerPlayed on recordings with Dry Branch Fire Squad
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Mary Jo LeetPlayed on recordings with Dry Branch Fire Squad
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Suzanne ThomasPlayed on recordings with Dry Branch Fire Squad
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Charlie LeetPlayed on recordings with Dry Branch Fire Squad
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John HiseyPlayed on recordings with Dry Branch Fire Squad
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Bobby OsbornePlayed on recordings with Dry Branch Fire Squad
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Brian AldridgePlayed on recordings with Dry Branch Fire Squad
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Dave EdmundsonPlayed on recordings with Dry Branch Fire Squad
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Dick ErwinPlayed on recordings with Dry Branch Fire Squad
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Eddie StubbsPlayed on recordings with Dry Branch Fire Squad
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Kenny BakerPlayed on recordings with Dry Branch Fire Squad
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Tommy BoydPlayed on recordings with Dry Branch Fire Squad
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Bill EvansPlayed on recording with Dry Branch Fire Squad
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Bobby MaynardPlayed on recording with Dry Branch Fire Squad
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Dick IrwinPlayed on recording with Dry Branch Fire Squad
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John CarpenterPlayed on recording with Dry Branch Fire Squad