Born near Asheville, North Carolina in 1973, Bryan Sutton started playing the guitar at the age of 8. Sutton first came to prominence as part of Ricky Skaggs’ bluegrass band Kentucky Thunder. At the beginning of 1999, Bryan followed his heart and retired from Kentucky Thunder to devote himself to the recording work he finds so fascinating and rewarding.
As a leading session guitarist, he continues to appear on numerous recordings, from gospel albums to Rhonda Vincent’s Back Home Again to million-sellers like the Dixie Chicks’ Fly. His guitar playing anchors Dolly Parton’s sensational bluegrass albums, Little Sparrow and The Grass Is Blue (Sugar Hill), and the singer returned the favor by contributing to Bryan’s album, Ready To Go.
Filling in for the injured Tony Rice with the Bluegrass Sessions gave Bryan continued acclaim as he continually amazed audiences with his distinctive precision guitar leads.
Bryan has been honored as IBMA Guitarist of the Year in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, was awarded a Grammy in 2007 and in 2011 was named Speciality Instrument Player of the Year at the Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.
As the 20th anniversary of his seminal 2006 Not Too Far From the Tree: A Collection of Duets with Heroes and Friends approached, Sutton began to plan a follow-up. This time, instead of featuring mentors and peers like the original album’s Tony Rice, George Shuffler, Norman Blake and David Grier, his vision was widened. “I’d been thinking ever since that it would be fun to do another version where I have more players of my generation, or even younger, to revisit this idea and capture and record some duets—just me playing with friends and younger players who still influence me.” In the summer of 2025, Mountain Home Music Company announced that they had partnered with him to present those duets as the From Roots to Branches series.
Discography:
Ready to Go (Sugar Hill Records, 2000)
Bluegrass Guitar (Sugar Hill Records, 2003)
Not Too Far from the Tree (Sugar Hill Records, 2006)
Almost Live (Sugar Hill Records, 2009)
Into My Own (Sugar Hill Records, 2014)
The More I Learn (Sugar Hill Records, 2016)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.