Try it free

John Reischman

Recording Artist · Active 1993–present · Ukiah · Also a musician
New Acoustic Contemporary Bluegrass

John Reischman is a California-born, Vancouver-based mandolinist whose tone-first approach to a 1924 Loar F-5 has earned a generation of imitators. A veteran of the Tony Rice Unit and longtime leader of John Reischman & the Jaybirds, he is one of the defining mandolinists of the new acoustic era.

Assisted by AI. Spot something off? Help us fix it.
  • Born February 28, 1955 in Ukiah, California (Mendocino County); started guitar at 12 and switched to mandolin at 17.
  • Toured and recorded with the Good Ol' Persons in the late 1970s and early 1980s San Francisco Bay Area scene.
  • Member of the Tony Rice Unit in the early 1980s, helping define the "new acoustic music" movement.
  • Relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia in the early 1990s and has been based there since.
  • Founded John Reischman & the Jaybirds around 2000; the band has earned multiple Juno nominations.
  • Plays a 1924 Lloyd Loar-signed Gibson F-5 mandolin; his composition "Salt Spring" is a modern bluegrass standard.
  • Teaches mandolin online via Peghead Nation and is a regular instructor at major camps and workshops.

Share Playlist