Buddy Melton
Buddy Melton is a North Carolina-born fiddler and high tenor singer who co-founded Balsam Range in 2007 — the IBMA Entertainer of the Year-winning Haywood County band — and won IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year twice (2014, 2018) before his January 2025 departure to pursue other projects.
- Founding member of Balsam Range, formed in 2007 in Haywood County, North Carolina.
- Did not get serious about bluegrass until college at Western Carolina University, where he picked up the family fiddle that had hung on his childhood-home wall.
- Discovered his high tenor singing voice at a college jam session performing "Blue Moon of Kentucky."
- Pre-Balsam Range, played with gospel-bluegrass group Rock Springs Reunion (top-10 gospel chart hit) and Nashville-based Jubal Foster.
- Won IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year in 2014 and 2018.
- With Balsam Range: two-time IBMA Entertainer of the Year (2014, 2018), plus IBMA Vocal Group, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year wins.
- Performs on a 1903 John Juzek violin and other instruments; runs Melton & Miller Music with longtime production partner Milan Miller.
- Announced his departure from Balsam Range in January 2025 to pursue other projects; received the 2025 North Carolina Award for Fine Arts.