Stuart Duncan...
Fiddle, harmony vocals
Born: April 14, 1964
Both of Stuart Duncan's patents were folk musicians, so he grew up surrounded with guitars and banjos. His father was in the Marine Corps, but also ran the sound system a a local folk club in San Diego County. So the boy saw The Dillards, Byrone Berline and other top acts firsthand at an early age.
Stuart picked up fiddle at age seven. With a group of other military youngsters from Camp Pendleton, Stuart performed with The Pendleton Pickers, who won a radio contest that brought them to the Opry stage in 1974. He was still a teenager when he returned to play the Opry again in 1978, this time with banjo star Alison Brown.
He taught himself to play by listening to the records of Vassar Clements, Chubby Wise, Kenny Baker and the other bluegrass fiddle greats. After serving stints with Gold Rush, Lost Highway and Larry Saprks, Duncan moved to Nashville in 1985. He recorded with Sparks in his Lonesone Guitar LP.
Duncan joined the Nashville Bluegrass Band in 1985, appearing on the group's second record. A recording session with Ricky Skaggs led to offers for more studio work. When Mark O'Connor quit doing sessions, Stuart Duncan became even more in-demand as a studio musician. But he continues today as an NBB mainstay.