Biography

Passages — the new instrumental bluegrass album from guitarist/composer Ethan Sherman — is equal parts chemistry and cohesion. Sherman directs traffic, giving his collaborators time and space for play, in the truest and most joyful sense. To realize the album's eight original tunes, he assembled an all-star group with Wes Corbett (banjo and producer), Thomas Cassell (mandolin), Avery Merritt (fiddle), Ethan Jodziewicz (bass), and Rob Ickes (dobro). Building on Sherman's diverse material, the band knows exactly when to lean in — as on the rollicking fiddle tune "The Glendale Gallop”. They also know when to lean back — as on the emotive “Lake Aire”, letting sweet melodies ring out. Altogether, Passages is a powerful, fully-conceived statement from one of the brightest voices in the new-acoustic music scene.

Hailed by no less than Julian Lage as “a shining light of our community”, guitarist & composer Ethan Sherman moves between a wide variety of musical worlds with uncommon ease and a deeply personal sound. 

As a bandleader and collaborator, he’s quietly been building a singular body of work orbiting the acoustic music community for many years. The Fretboard Journal has called him "one of those rare individuals who can hold his own playing electric or in traditional bluegrass setting."

As a sideman, he has toured with artists like Americana icons The Wailin’ Jennys and 5-time Grammy winner Michael Bublé. He is also a committed educator, co- authoring (with Adam Levy) String Theories: Tips, Challenges & Reflections for the Lifelong Guitarist.

In addition, he’s recorded and performed around his home of Los Angeles with artists as diverse as Nels Cline, Harrison Whitford, Sean & Sara Watkins, Patrick Shiroishi, Lou Roy, Johanna Samuels, Lulu Simon, and Ed Helms.