Bluegrass Standards for Banjo Made Easy

Spanning a career that began more than 25 years ago, Ross Nickerson has been performing professionally since the age of 17. In addition to his performances, Ross has been teaching the banjo through private lessons and group workshops and has produced various books, videos, CDs, and DVDs. As a songwriter, Ross has written numerous songs and has recorded with many of the best in the business. Many of the bands that Ross has been a member of have been successful, including the distinction of being two-time winners of the Telluride Band Contest, being selected for contracts at Tokyo Disneyland and Opryland, being two-time winners at the Four Corners Bluegrass Festival Band Contest, and multiple time winners of Newspaper Readers Poll Best Band contests. Ross has also earned many other accolades with his music along the way. Ross Nickerson has signed with Pinecastle Records and his recent Pinecastle release, Blazing the West is receiving national and international attention. Blazing the West features a thematic blend of bluegrass, classic western, and western swing adapted to Ross's hard-driving original banjo style. Blazing the West also features Ross with many of today's top artists, including Riders in the Sky, Tim O'Brien, Mike Bub, Joe Craven, and many others. The International Bluegrass Music Association named it as one of the top 15 instrumental CDs of 2003, also CMT (Country Music Television) calls Blazing the West one of the top ten Albums of 2003. Ross continues to focus much of his time and effort on helping others to learn the joy of playing the banjo. Ross operates "The Banjo School" in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area.