Kenny Smith
Contemporary Bluegrass
Kenny Smith is an Indiana-born flatpicking guitarist whose precise, melodic style has shaped the Lonesome River Band, the Kenny & Amanda Smith Band, and Band of Ruhks — a two-time IBMA Guitar Player of the Year and one of the most-imitated session players of his generation.
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- Grew up in Nine Mile, Indiana in a family of fiddlers; began guitar at age 4, learning fiddle tunes from Norman Blake recordings.
- Turned professional in 1993 with Claire Lynch and the Front Porch String Band.
- Joined the Lonesome River Band in 1996 alongside Sammy Shelor, Don Rigsby, and Ronnie Bowman; left the band in 2001.
- Won IBMA Guitar Player of the Year in 1999 and 2000.
- Co-leads the Kenny and Amanda Smith Band with his wife Amanda; named IBMA Emerging Artist of the Year in 2003.
- Founding member of Band of Ruhks with Don Rigsby and Ronnie Bowman, formed after a Lonesome River Band reunion.
- Widely regarded as one of the most influential flatpick guitarists of his generation and an in-demand session player.
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Studebaker1997 · Sugar Hill SHCD 3869
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Adam SteffeyPlayed on recordings with Kenny Smith
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Barry BalesPlayed on recordings with Kenny Smith
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Daniel CarwilePlayed on recordings with Kenny Smith
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Kenny SmithPlayed on recordings with Kenny Smith
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Sammy ShelorPlayed on recordings with Kenny Smith
