Sammy Shelor

Musician · b. 1962 · Meadows of Dan, Virginia · sammyshelor.com
Best known for Banjo

Sammy Shelor is the longtime leader of the Lonesome River Band and one of the most decorated bluegrass banjo players of his generation, with a hard-driving, melodic approach that traces back through three generations of Shelor family banjoists in southwestern Virginia.

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  • Born October 10, 1962 and raised in Meadows of Dan, Patrick County, Virginia; learned banjo from his grandfather, who had been taught by Charlie Poole.
  • Performing in local bands by age 10; turned professional in the 1980s with the Virginia Squires.
  • Joined the Lonesome River Band in 1990 and became co-manager with Ronnie Bowman in 1995, then sole bandleader after Bowman's departure in 2000.
  • Won IBMA Banjo Player of the Year five times: 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 2012.
  • Won SPBGMA Banjo Performer of the Year four times: 1999, 2002, 2004, and 2014.
  • Received the 2011 Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass.
  • Inducted into the Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009.

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