bluegrass
Ferrum, Virginia
Photo courtesy of Laci Mack
One of the festival favorites returning to celebrate the Richmond Folk Festival’s 20th anniversary, Junior Sisk is one of the most beloved bluegrass musicians around. It’s hard to imagine an artist more devoted to bluegrass, or more rooted in Southwest Virginia’s prolific bluegrass community, than Junior Sisk. Coming from Ferrum, Virginia, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, he first gained acclaim for his songwriting, but over the years it’s Junior’s powerful, high-lonesome singing that has earned him the devotion of traditional bluegrass fans. Now Junior has assembled a fresh, hard-driving ensemble of top-notch musicians. Bursting with energy in live performance, and enhanced by the arresting vocals of Heather Berry Mabe, Junior Sisk Band features one of the most heralded names in bluegrass at the top of his game.
Born in Arlington, Virginia, and raised in Ferrum, Junior’s early life was surrounded by music. His father, who played guitar and fiddle, was his first teacher. Junior started out on upright bass, a memorable Christmas gift when he was around 14. “I was looking for a motorcycle,” he recalls. “Christmas morning, I went out there and [my father] had a big tarp on the back of the truck. I said, ‘Oh boy!’ and I ripped it back and it was an upright bass.” He learned chord changes from watching his dad, and when he picked up the guitar a few years later, the transition was seamless.
Junior started out writing songs, working with well-known groups like the Lonesome River Band to create some of their biggest hits. Later, as a veteran of several nationally known bluegrass bands, including Wyatt Rice & Santa Cruz, Lost & Found, Blueridge and Rambler’s Choice, he played a central role in defining the sound of traditional bluegrass for a new generation. His talents and contributions have not gone unnoticed: Sisk has received numerous accolades, including from the International Bluegrass Music Association (2013 Male Vocalist of the Year and 2012 Album of the Year) and awards from the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America.
In his latest project, Junior Sisk Band, Sisk has assembled a lineup that hearkens back to the roots of bluegrass deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains. “I felt I was straying away from my roots,” he says. “I love the Stanley Brothers and good, traditional bluegrass music and old country, and it seemed to be fading out. I wanted to keep it alive.” At the heart of the group’s sound is Junior’s singular voice and its echoes of the Virginia hills. The influences of Flatt & Scruggs, the Stanley Brothers, and others from the revered founding generation that brought bluegrass music to world are undeniable. Junior continues, “We’re trying to bring back what I call side B numbers—old Flatt & Scruggs, Stanley Brothers, Jim and Jesse, all those old guys who had big hits, but they also had hidden treasures.” Aiding Sisk in his quest to resurrect some of these hidden gems are long-time collaborator Johnathan Dillon (mandolin and vocals), husband-and-wife duo Heather Berry Mabe (guitar and vocals) and Tony Mabe (banjo, guitar, and vocals), and Curt Love on bass. Junior has released over a dozen albums in his illustrious career, with his latest, If There’s a Will, There’s a Way, released earlier this year.