Jason Carter
Best known for
Fiddle
Jason Carter spent 33 years as the fiddle player for the Del McCoury Band — the most-awarded group in bluegrass history — before striking out on his own in 2025. A six-time IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year, his fluid, blues-inflected playing became an essential part of the Del McCoury Band sound during the era that defined modern traditional bluegrass.
- Born in Ashland, Kentucky; grew up in Greenup County in the Country Music Highway region of eastern Kentucky. His father was a musician who first taught him guitar at age eight.
- Started on mandolin a few years after guitar. Switched to fiddle at age 16 after seeing Del McCoury on television — an event he credits as changing his life. By his senior year in high school he was playing Del McCoury tapes on the drive to school every morning.
- Graduated from Greenup County High School in 1991. First professional job was a six-month stint as fiddler with the Goins Brothers, touring mostly on the East Coast.
- In February 1992, the Goins Brothers played Nashville on a bill with Del McCoury, and Carter — just 19 — asked him for a job. Fiddler Tad Marks had decided not to make the move to Nashville with the band, creating an opening. Carter became the first to request the job and the first to get a tryout. He’s been (as he puts it) “there ever since.”
- Joined the Del McCoury Band as fiddler in 1992, completing the lineup of Del McCoury, sons Ronnie (mandolin) and Rob (banjo), and bassist Mike Bub — the configuration that remained unchanged for 13 years and won the band an unprecedented run of IBMA awards including 9 Entertainer of the Year trophies.
- Six-time IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year: 1997, 1998, 2003, 2013, 2014, and 2023. Three-time Grammy winner, including Best Bluegrass Album in 2018 for The Travelin’ McCourys.
- Co-founded the Travelin’ McCourys in 2009 with Ronnie and Rob McCoury — a side project that has grown into a major touring act with its own jam-band following.
- Recording credits as a sideman include Steve Earle’s The Mountain, plus albums by Ricky Skaggs, Dierks Bentley, Charlie Daniels, Vince Gill, Asleep at the Wheel, John Prine, Mac Wiseman, Ralph Stanley, the Gibson Brothers, Sierra Hull, and Billy Strings.
- Has released two solo albums: On the Move (Rounder, 1997) and Lowdown Hoedown (2022). Currently performs in a duo with fellow fiddler Michael Cleveland as Carter & Cleveland.
- Inducted into the Country Music Highway in Greenup County, Kentucky in 2015.
- Married fellow fiddler and Molly Tuttle band member Bronwyn Keith-Hynes at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. In 2025, after 33 years with the band, Carter announced his departure from the Del McCoury Band to focus on Carter & Cleveland and other projects.
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I'll Fly AwayThe Del McCoury Band · American Legacies: The Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Del McCoury Band (2011)
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The Del McCoury BandPlayed on recordings with The Del McCoury Band
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Del McCoury and David GrismanPlayed on recordings with Del McCoury and David Grisman
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Jack CookePlayed on recordings with Jack Cooke
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David GrismanPlayed on recordings with David Grisman
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Junior Sisk and Joe MullinsPlayed on recordings with Junior Sisk and Joe Mullins
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Josh WilliamsPlayed on recordings with Josh Williams
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Steve Earle and the Del McCoury BandPlayed on recordings with Steve Earle and the Del McCoury Band
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The Gibson BrothersPlayed on recordings with The Gibson Brothers
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The Little GrasscalsPlayed on recordings with The Little Grasscals
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Audie Blaylock and RedlinePlayed on recording with Audie Blaylock and Redline
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Bradley WalkerPlayed on recording with Bradley Walker
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Don RigsbyPlayed on recording with Don Rigsby
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Jason CarterPlayed on recording with Jason Carter
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Keller Williams with the Travelin' McCourysPlayed on recording with Keller Williams with the Travelin' McCourys
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Merle MonroePlayed on recording with Merle Monroe
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Molly Tuttle and Golden HighwayPlayed on recording with Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway
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Paul WilliamsPlayed on recording with Paul Williams
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Ronnie BowmanPlayed on recording with Ronnie Bowman
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Ronnie McCouryPlayed on recording with Ronnie McCoury
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Terry BaucomPlayed on recording with Terry Baucom
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The ChieftainsPlayed on recording with The Chieftains
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The Po' Ramblin' BoysPlayed on recording with The Po' Ramblin' Boys