For over twenty years, Steven Thomas has been a professional musician touring and working with the biggest artists in Bluegrass and Country music.

“Dad sang and played fiddle and mandolin in a little Gospel band with some folks from church. The preacher’s wife, Flo Doyle, sang; the choir director, a nice lady named Mona Spickard sang and played bass, and one of Dad’s closest friends, Paul Kidd, sang and played guitar. It wasn’t long before Paul’s son, Monte, who had become my best friend, and I horned our way in. Monte on the snare drum and me on the guitar.” Game on!

One of Steve’s early influences on the fiddle was a championship fiddle player from North Carolina-Tommy Red Maulbuff.

"Man could he make that thing talk. He had beautiful tone.  He was a real showman. Tommy was the man who turned me on to Kenny Baker. (21 years the fiddle player for Bill Monroe) He gave me an album of fiddle tunes by Kenny Baker and Joe Green called "High Country" and I still have it."

Steve went on to play in the Roanoke Youth Symphony. Through his high school years, he played with some of the best bands in and around the Roanoke area, including the East Virginia Grass and The New Grass Revue. He won Best Mandolin player at the Virginia State Championship in 1981. He also won the Grand American Fiddle Championship in Chilhowie, VA. that year. In 1982, he won Best Fiddler at Galax, VA. and Best Fiddler at the World’s Fair in Knoxville, TN. He hooked up with Tim Austin to form the  Lonesome River Band.

In 1982, Steve enrolled at Virginia Western Community College, but the bug proved too strong, and he left after just three semesters to play the fiddle for Del McCoury. The next year found him and his new wife, Janet in Nashville, TN., where he played on the Grand Ole Opry with Jim & Jesse and The Virginia Boys. He went on to record and play with The Lost and Found, The Whites, The Osborne Brothers, Aaron Tippin, Barbara Mandrell, Brooks and Dunn, LeeAnn Womack, Kenny Chesney, John Michael Montgomery, Ronnie Bowman, and Lorrie Morgan. More recently he's been working in the studio recording and producing music by The Crow Brothers, Larry Cordle, and Jesse Mc Reynolds.

Steve has now joined us here at Eagle Canyon Music, to have a little fun as a producer and make some more music memories.

Welcome, Steve!

For more information about Steve's music, visit his website.