Brad Apple interviews Sammy Shelor of the Lonesome River Band

For years Sammy Shelor has been one of the very best banjo players in the business. He's been named the IBMA banjo player of the year in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 2012. He also was awarded the Steve Martin Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass Award in 2011. Sammy joined the Lonesome River Band in 1990, and in 1992, they won the IBMA album of the year award for Carrying The Tradition. After the last original member, Tim Austin, left the band in 1995, Shelor and Ronnie Bowman carried forward as the leaders of the band. When Bowman left, Shelor became the leader of the Lonesome River Band, and continues to deliver top notch excellence in their performances and recordings. Sammy recently joined host Brad Apple by phone to talk about his career. In this episode we learn about Sammy's beginnings, first bands including the Virginia Squires, playing a stint with a touring country band, and his eventual leading of the Lonesome River Band. Sammy also talks about how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the lives of touring musicians. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/brad-apple/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/brad-apple/support