Eli Johnston

He was born near Branson, Missouri, and raised in southeastern Kansas. His grandfather bought him his first guitar when he was eleven, and his father drove him all over the country to bluegrass festivals. He joined his first band, Nothin’ Fancy, while still in high school, and later played with Pine Mountain Railroad, which he joined on banjo and guitar in October 2006; his song “Captain” became a hit for that band. He then spent four years as a featured performer at the Tennessee Shindig theater in Pigeon Forge, and in December 2011 he joined Monroeville as guitarist.

In August 2013 he joined Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, singing harmony and some lead and playing mainly bass. Over five years he appeared on four of the band’s albums, among them In Session (2015) and Burden Bearer (2016), and the band recorded two of his songs. He left in November 2018 to spend more time at home, and in October 2019 he joined the touring band of Merle Monroe on bass and harmony vocals, having already played bass on its debut album. When the pandemic stopped Quicksilver’s touring in 2020, Lawson rebuilt the band, and by July of that year Johnston was back, now on banjo and singing lead and harmony, alongside Jerry Cole, Ben James and Matt Flake. He was in the lineup that played Quicksilver’s farewell shows in December 2021, including a tribute to Bill Emerson on “Sweet Dixie.”

When Lawson retired from regular touring, Johnston, Cole and the fiddler Stephen Burwell formed Authentic Unlimited with the mandolinist Jesse Brock and the singer and guitarist John Meador, announcing the band on 27 December 2021, with Johnston on banjo. Its albums for Billy Blue include The Gospel Sessions, Vol. 2 (2024), with “The Cry from the Cross,” and the Christmas album Christmas Time Is Here (2024). The band was named the IBMA’s New Artist of the Year in 2023 and its Vocal Group of the Year in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and won Vocal Group of the Year again at the IBMA awards on 22 October 2026; its “Fall in Tennessee” was Song of the Year and Music Video of the Year in 2024.