Steve Sutton Fest

2025 Artists: 

• No Joke Jimmy’s
• Whitewater Bluegrass Co.
• Mike Compton & Laura Boosinger
• Junior Appalachian Musicians
• Mountain Tradition Cloggers

By the time he was in high school, Sutton had become such a good banjo player that he received nearly simultaneous offers from both Bill Monroe and Jimmy Martin. He chose to go on the road with Jimmy Martin in 1974, and thus began a career that carried him from the Grand Ole Opry around the world and back again. In later years, stints playing and recording with Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, and touring the world with Alecia Nugent, kept him in the spotlight. Sutton appeared on the IBMA Award-winning, Grammy-nominated album Celebration of Life, and also received Grammy nominations as part of two recording projects with Rhonda Vincent.

Back home in Haywood County, Sutton was a long-time member of the Whitewater Bluegrass Company, the Darren Nicholson Band, and the Crowe Brothers. He also appeared regularly at Maggie Valley’s Ghost Town in the Sky, bringing him full circle back to the town where his music career began.

Steve Sutton passed away on May 13, 2017 at the age of sixty-one. The Steve Sutton Memorial Charitable Trust and Steve Sutton Fest were created to continue Steve’s legacy: sharing joy and helping others through music.