Big Country Bluegrass delivers their own hard driving and heartfelt style of bluegrass music, and it makes them crowd favorites wherever they perform. Whether it's at a festival in Missouri, on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, or at a small intimate concert in their hometown of Independence, Virginia, the band brings back memories reminiscent of the early days of bluegrass music.
Tommy and Teresa Sells formed Big Country Bluegrass in the late 1980s, and the group's name comes from the instrumental "Big Country" that the late Jimmy Martin recorded many years ago. All band members live in and around the Virginia-Carolina Blue Ridge, and their music reflects much of the deep musical heritage found in this region which is at the heart of the Crooked Road Music Trail.
Tommy plays mandolin and does most of the emcee work while Teresa plays rhythm guitar, sings lead and the high harmony vocals. Eddie Gill handles most of the distinctive lead vocals and plays the guitar. Lynwood Lunsford, a former member of both Lost and Found and Jimmy Martin's Sunny Mountain Boys, plays banjo and also sings harmony for the group. Tony King of Galax, Virginia, plays the acoustic upright bass, and bluegrass veteran Tim Laughlin, of Bristol, Tennessee, plays fiddle and sings harmony with the band.
The recent success of Big Country Bluegrass on the bluegrass charts has helped spread the word about their traditional sound. Their current Rebel recording and it's title cut, "The Boys in Hats and Ties" has garnered the prestigious # 1 spot on both the Bluegrass Unlimited and the Bluegrass Music Profiles' radio air-play charts.
The new Rebel project is recorded and will be out in early Spring 2013.
