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Larry Stephenson

Recording Artist · Active 1976–present · Harrisonburg · Also a musician
Contemporary Bluegrass

Larry Stephenson is one of the most-decorated traditional bluegrass bandleaders of the past three decades — a five-time SPBGMA Male Vocalist of the Year, longtime mandolinist, and head of the Larry Stephenson Band, which has recorded more than fifteen albums since 1989.

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  • Born Larry Lee Stephenson in Harrisonburg, Virginia and raised in King George; took up mandolin at age 5 from his father Ed Stephenson.
  • Toured with his father in Larry Stephenson & the New Grass in the mid-1970s before joining Cliff Waldron's New Shades of Grass in 1977.
  • Played in Bill Harrell and the Virginians from 1979 to 1983, then in Don Parmley's Bluegrass Cardinals from 1983 to 1988.
  • Founded the Larry Stephenson Band in 1989; recorded across the Webco, Pinecastle, Compass, and his own Whysper Dream Music labels.
  • Won SPBGMA Male Vocalist of the Year five times: 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008; SPBGMA Mandolin Player of the Year (2012); SPBGMA Vocal Group of the Year (2016); and IBMA Recorded Event of the Year (2010).
  • Inducted into the SPBGMA Preservation Hall of Greats in 2018 and the Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996.
  • Currently fronts the Larry Stephenson Band with Derek Vaden (banjo), Matt Downing (guitar), and Norbert McGettigan (bass); also plays in the multi-band project The Bluegrass Band.

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