Biographical Info

Virginia
fiddle

Rhys Jones has been playing traditional Appalachian, French-Canadian and Irish fiddle music for 30 years. Born in Chicago, he began his fiddling at age 7 in the fertile environment of the Chicago Barn Dance Company. Soon after, his family moved to southern West Virginia where he learned from the older generation of fiddlers, including Ernie Carpenter, Melvin Wine, Glen Smith and Wilson Douglas. Rhys continued his musical education while living in Westport, County Mayo, Ireland, and has now played for concerts, dances, workshops and festivals across the United States and Europe. He has won both fiddle and band contests at The Appalachian String Band Festival (Clifftop), and is regarded as one of the bright lights of the current generation of traditional performers. Rhys has three albums with the Vigortone label, appears on numerous compilations and recordings, and can be seen in the award-winning concert documentary Absolutely Irish. Rhys is also known as an accomplished banjo and guitar player, and is always in demand as an accompanist to both Irish and American musicians.