with George Guthrie (bio coming)
California
fiddle

For nearly four decades, Laurie Lewis has gathered fans and honors for her powerful and emotive voice and her versatile, dynamic songwriting. And she is an inspiration and a ground-breaker – across genres, across geography and across gender barriers. Laurie has shown us how a woman can blend into any part of the classic bluegrass singing trio, and she showed us how a great voice could move fluidly between bluegrass and other types of music. She has shown how a Californian can appeal to traditional bluegrass audiences, as well as winning acclaim in the worlds of Americana and folk music. For almost as long as she’s been performing, Laurie has been sharing her passion for bluegrass and her knowledge of the voice, bluegrass instruments and song arranging with eager students at music camps across the country. She has become a mentor to many young women, among them Molly Tuttle, Tatiana Hargreaves and Kimber Ludiker, who have gone on to stellar professional music careers.

Laurie will be accompanied by George Guthrie, who started playing bluegrass and old time music 20 years ago while in high school in Virginia. He started out playing guitar, but it was ultimately the 5 string banjo that sparked his passion. He graduated from the University of Virginia in 2014 with a degree in music and was deeply influenced by the rich musical traditions of Central Virginia. He moved to Colorado in 2015 and joined the award winning bands Meadow Mountain and Caribou Mountain Collective. In 2017-18 he was the principal banjoist for Steve Martin’s “Bright Star” musical. From there he went on to tour and record with the award winning band The Wooks. Since 2022 he has been a member of Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands, an institution of the California Bluegrass scene, with whom he has recorded and toured throughout the country. George’s style has been described as smooth and tasteful, inventive yet rarely straying too far from the melody. He is equally proficient in both bluegrass and clawhammer banjo styles, and loves singing and playing guitar. While many banjo players strive for technical virtuosity, George strives to capture the spirit of the song in his playing. He makes his home in Nashville TN and enjoys teaching and playing music with friends while not on the road.