2025 Instructors

Becky Buller is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter from St. James, Minn., who has  traversed the globe over performing bluegrass music to underwrite her insatiable songwriting  habit. 

Becky has written songs for three Grammy award-winning albums: she co-wrote “Freedom,”  the lead-off track of The Infamous Stringdusters Laws of Gravity (2018 Best Bluegrass Gram my), “The Shaker” on The Travelin’ McCoury’s self-titled release (2019 Best Bluegrass Gram my), and “Good-bye Girl” on Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway’s Crooked Tree album (2023 Best  Bluegrass Grammy). Her compositions can also be heard on records by Ricky Skaggs,  Rhonda Vincent and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, to name just a few. 

Becky is the recipient of 10 IBMA awards, including the 2016 Fiddler and Female Vocalist.  She is the first woman in the history of the awards to receive the Fiddler nod; she is also the  first person ever to win in both vocal and instrumental categories. Her other awards include  the 2020 Collaborative Recording for “The Barber’s Fiddle” and the 2020 Song for co-writing  and fiddling on Special Consensus’ “Chicago Barn Dance.”  

She has made multiple guest appearances on WSM’s Grand Ole Opry and tours extensively  with the Becky Buller Band. Becky has released seven albums. Distance And Time, her third  album for the Dark Shadow Recording label, was a nominee for the 2021 IBMA Album award.  

Becky’s new album, Jubilee, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass Album Chart for the  week of June 1st, 2024. It features her brilliant road band along with special guest and co writer Aoife O’Donovan. Jubilee is a song cycle that shares the story of Becky’s lifelong  struggle with depression and anxiety, how it reached a crisis point during the pandemic years,  and how she made it to the other side.

In April 2023, Becky was inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall Of Fame. Becky moonlights with the First Ladies Of Bluegrass, an all-female ensemble composed of  the first women to win in their respective instrumental categories at the IBMA awards: Alison  Brown (banjo), Missy Raines (bass), Sierra Hull (mandolin), Becky (fiddle), and Molly Tuttle  (guitar).

Equally passionate about bluegrass music education, Becky has over 20 years experience  teaching fiddle, singing, and songwriting, both privately and at workshops and camps around  the world. She currently serves on the board of the IBMA Foundation, which awards $50,000  annually in scholarships and grants to spread the word about bluegrass music and support  those who create it.

Becky proudly calls Manchester, Tenn., her adopted hometown, where she lives with husband  and daughter. Visit her online at BeckyBuller.com.

Banjoist for the Becky Buller Band and host of More Banjo Sunday and Derailed on SiriusXM Satellite Radio’s Bluegrass Junction, Ned Luberecki was named Banjo Player of the Year for 2018 and Broadcaster of the Year for 2023 by the International Bluegrass Music Association. Ned is the author of the Complete Banjo Method series for Alfred Music and has numerous lesson videos available at TrueFire.com. Living in Nashville, TN, he is an in-demand performer and session musician having appeared on stage and recordings with Becky Buller, Chris Jones, Jim Lauderdale, Ray Stevens, Nedski & Mojo and many others. In addition to teaching private banjo lessons via Skype, FaceTime and Zoom to students around the globe, Ned is a popular instructor at music camps and workshops across the US, Canada and Europe including Camp Bluegrass, RockyGrass Academy, Kaufman Acoustic Kamp, Sore Fingers (UK) and Bluegrass Camp Germany. 

Jason Homey is one of the founders of the Weiser Banjo camp.  He and Gary Eller created the camp with a vision of providing an intimate learning environment great instruction. He has played  five-string banjo since 1989 and is a two-time first place winner of the Western Canadian Bluegrass Banjo Championships and the Weiser Banjo Contest and a long-term member of the Bluegrass/Celtic/Rock-band 'The Clumsy Lovers'. In addition to performing, recording, and teaching one-on-one banjo, guitar, and mandolin lessons, Jason has (for many years)  hosted  beginner and  intermediate Bluegrass jams in Boise that have vitalized a strong bluegrass community.    

Frank Evans fell in love with banjo at age 10 and quickly developed a passion for Old Time Appalachian music. He won the youth banjo contest at the Clifftop Appalachian String Band Festival when he was 13 and later placed second over all. In 2010 Evans joined the bluegrass outfit the Slocan Ramblers and recorded their first album Shaking Down the Acorns produced by Juno award winner Andrew Collins. The album gained attention world wide and led them to open for Steve Martin at the Toronto Jazz festival in 2013. In 2011 Evans became the first banjo player to attend Humber College of Music where he studied Jazz. Currently Evans tours extensively year round throughout the world and has played at Rockygrass, Merlefest, and Jacobs Ladder Festival in Isreal. He has taught at the Rockygrass Academy, Nimble Fingers Bluegrass Camp and has played, recorded and taught alongside Old Crow Medicine Show, Natalie MacMaster, Tony Trischka, Peter Rowan, John Reischman and Ken Whiteley. The Slocan Ramlers released “Queen City Jubilee” in June 2018 which was nominated for a Juno. Evans is based in Nashville TN.

On clawhammer banjo, Allison de Groot has become a well known instrumentalist in the North American traditional, Americana and roots music scenes. Starting out on banjo in her hometown of Winnipeg, Canada, Allison has grown into a career of continued musical exploration that is centred around collaborations. She’s played with some of the most renowned traditional musicians in North America, and her duo project with fiddler Tatiana Hargreaves has been described by Bandcamp Daily as “one living, breathing organism”. They create a sound that is adventurous, masterful, and original and No Depression writes that it “transports the listener to a different plane”. Wether playing with Tatiana, percussive dancer Nic Gareiss, or artists like Yasmin Williams or The Transatlantic Sessions, Allison’s banjo style is distinctly her own, grounded, joyfully playful and interactive. She was recently nominated by the Americana Music Association for “Instrumentalist of the Year” and her latest album Hurricane Clarice with Tatiana Hargreaves received a JUNO nomination and won both “Traditional Album” and “Instrumental Group” of the year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards. 

Hayes Griffin is a multi-instrumentalist and music educator living in Columbus, OH. Hayes has over a decade's worth of experience touring with acts like Canadian fiddler April Verch and progressive bluegrass band Newtown, whose album Harlan Road featured Griffin’s guitar work and debuted at #8 on the Billboard Bluegrass Charts. 

In 2020, Hayes developed a presence in the YouTube instructional community with his weekly series on the electric mandolin playing of Tiny Moore and later through his work with Mandolin Secrets. 

These days, Hayes helps thousands of guitarists realize their true musical potential through his weekly YouTube lessons, private instruction, and his online video platform - Guitar Club. 

At age 12, Richmond, Va., native Jacob Groopman became captivated by the guitar, immersing himself in rock, blues, and jazz. But it wasn’t until his time at Oberlin Conservatory that he really dug into early American roots, bluegrass, and inger-style blues. This diverse skill set served Jacob well when he settled in the San Fransisco Bay Area to began his professional music career, beginning with the Albino! Afrobeat Orchestra as well as various bluegrass and country groups. Along the way, he has always taught both private instrumental music, group classes, and even facilitated musical summer camps in various states from Alaska to Wisconsin. Jacob is best known in the bluegrass music world for his work with his wife, Melody Walker, in their band, Front Country, one of only three groups in history to win both the prestigious RockyGrass and Telluride band competitions. Their critically-acclaimed, eclectic brand of original bluegrass and roots music caught the attention of NPR, Rolling Stone, and American Songwriter. After Front County went on hiatus in 2021, Jacob was part of several high proile tours with Americana artists The War and Treaty and Rachel Baimain in addition to duo performances with Melody. He also opened his own booking/management agency. Rosewood Artists currently represents Laurie Lewis, The Slocan Ramblers, and AJ Lee & Blue Summit. When not on tour with the Becky Buller Band, Jacob, Melody, and their cat can be found at home in Nashville, Tenn., biking, cooking, or doing yoga. Check out his 2021 solo album, Through The Gates, and visit him online at: JacobGroopman.com.  

see top

Patrick M’Gonigle began playing violin at the age of 7 in Vancouver, British Columbia. He studied classically with Suzuki-trained violin teacher Yasuko Eastman in Victoria, BC and during this time won several awards for his classical music as both a soloist and member of several String Quartets and small ensembles. After several years of touring in Canada with an acoustic dance band, Patrick moved to Boston in 2008 to study at the Berklee College of Music. Upon graduation in 2013, he immediately began a Masters degree in Music from the New England Conservatory, graduating Summa Cum Lauda in 2015 with a performance degree from the Contemporary Improvisation department. In 2012 Patrick formed the Lonely Heartstring Band, a modern acoustic string-band quintet. Since 2012, the band has released an acclaimed record, “Deep Waters” on Rounder Records with a second album “Smoke and Ashes” released in early winter, 2019. In 2015, the Lonely Heartstring Band was awarded a “Momentum Award” of “Best New Band” by the International Bluergass Music Association (IBMA) and in both 2016 and 2017, the group was nominated for the IBMA award for “Emerging Artist of the Year”. 

Originally from the sacred bluegrass mountains of southwestern Virginia, Thomas Cassell is among the highest rank of modern bluegrass musicians.  Cassell is a founding member of respected progressive group Circus No. 9, and has performed as a sideman with Billy Strings, the Bryan Sutton Band, Jim Lauderdale, Missy Raines, Becky Buller, and countless others.  Now a resident of Nashville, TN, he is cultivating new and original music – not ignorant of the great traditions that preceded him.

In 2021 Cassell was named the National Mandolin Champion.  He was also named the 2020 Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association, 2021 FreshGrass Mandolin Champion, 2016 Rockygrass Mandolin Champion, and is a two-time alum of the prestigious Acoustic Music Seminar in Savannah Georgia, where he collaborated with artists including Darrell Scott, Bryan Sutton, Mike Marshall, Aoife O’Donovan, Kaia Kater, and Julian Lage.

Music has long been present in the life of Lauren Price Napier.  Growing up, she learned to sing duet-style harmony with her twin sister, Leanna, by listening to their parents sing together. Although Lauren and Leanna were gifted instruments as children, it wasn’t until they attended a few workshops and festivals in their mid-high school years that they began to take a strong interest in bluegrass music. 

Lauren is a 2017 graduate of Morehead State University with a Bachelor of the Arts degree in Traditional Music and a minor in Business Administration. She holds the role of co-founder, mandolinist, and vocalist with The Price Sisters band – most of her professional work in the music industry comes from within that position. While still in college, Lauren and Leanna signed with Rebel Records, released an EP, and subsequently began touring as The Price Sisters. The Sisters’ released their first full-length album for Rebel, “A Heart Never Knows,” in spring of 2018. Fronted by Lauren and Leanna, The Price Sisters five-piece band to-date has performed at numerous venues and festivals across the United States, China, Ireland, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. In 2016 and 2017, Lauren was among those instructing at the Monroe Mandolin Camp. She has taught classes at Bean Blossom Bluegrass Bootcamp, the Bobby Osborne Mandolin Roundup, and at various festivals where The Price Sisters have performed. Lauren has worked as an artist-in-residence with the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum and in June of 2019, was featured for an interview on Mandolin Cafe. Lauren was nominated for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA) 2019 Momentum Vocalist of the Year and IBMA’s Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year for 2020 in addition to The Price Sisters’ band nomination for Momentum Band of the Year in 2019. When she’s not on the road performing, Lauren teaches skype, in-person, and private instrumental lessons for children and adults.

Max Etling is from and still lives in Plymouth, Minnesota. He is the bass player for the Becky Buller band and was also a band member with .Seth Mulder & Midnight Run and the former Guitar Player at Barton's Hollow. He teaches at the East Tennessee State University.