Biography

Release Date: October 13, 2019
Patuxent Music 338

Dear Listener:

Here for you is an offering of hillbilly music as presented by a group deeply rooted in the Appalachian musical tradition. Unadorned instruments and three voices singing the songs of their homeland as only those who know and feel it can.

David Sheppard picked up the guitar at a young age, drawn to the sounds of acoustic instruments. His earliest memory is of being surrounded by grown-ups towering over him belting out old hymns in his grandfather's Methodist church. He never holds back in his singing, and has a great sense of how to write a compelling song. “Home To Stay” is a recollection of his first visit to the farm where Ivy grew up. Discovering early on that he had a penchant for stringed instrument repair and restoration, he's now sought out by vintage instrument enthusiasts worldwide and also builds Radio King guitars.

Jackson Cunningham comes to the music naturally. Inspired by his father and the Stanley Brothers, and drawn to the mountains of southwest Virginia, he embodies that high lonesome sound. A multi-instrumentalist and soulful singer, he hearkens back to an earlier day when the music was simpler and came straight from the heart. His exquisitely tasteful mandolin playing reminds one immediately of an old Rich-R-Tone record. He's also a world-renowned builder of acoustic archtop and flattop Cunningham guitars.

A prince in the old-time tradition and willing to go the mile to play any show, Stu Geisbert holds down the bottom end playing doghouse bass. He has played with the legendary Stoneman Family and knows how to keep time like a metronome. Stu is a highly sought after master finish carpenter, and being a Maryland boy, you can bet he serves up some fine blue crab and oysters.

If music is supposed to move your heart, your head, or your feet, then Ivy Sheppard is due to explode at any moment. A lifetime obsession with the Carter Family and string band music has made Ivy determined to preserve the old-time sounds that resonate so keenly in her heart. The hard-driving rhythm and tunes she learned while playing with the Roan Mountain Hilltopers are never far from hand. Ivy works tirelessly to share those sounds from her ever expanding 78rpm record collection on her "Born In The Mountain" radio show.

It's this passion, verve, and vigor that drive the Broadcaster sound and reflect the essence of the people standing before you behind the microphones.


Joe Bussard
Frederick, Maryland