Adam Tanner is an internationally-known musician and recording artist who has innovated and experimented with a variety of musical styles for over five decades. In his more recent projects with the Crooked Jades, the Hunger Mountain Boys, Frank Lee, the Twilite Broadcasters, and also solo, Adam’s music spans the genres of traditional Appalachian and progressive string band music, country swing, early bluegrass, and pre-War blues.

Adam was born in New York and raised in Northern California. He began to play music as a child, taking Suzuki violin lessons and learning guitar from his older brother. In junior high, he began listening closely to bluegrass and old time music, and transitioned from classic violin to fiddle and mandolin. From the late ’80s to the early ’90s, Adam toured with the band Grotus, of which he was a founding member, experimenting with industrial electronic/rock fusion.

When Grotus disbanded, Adam returned to playing traditional Appalachian music. Moving to North Carolina, he was better able to study directly with legendery elder musicians. He had opportunities to learn technique from Tennessee fiddler Charlie Acuff, Kentucky fiddler Clyde Davenport, and Piedmont North Carolina fiddler Joe Thompson. It is evident that he has listened closely to a wide variety of Southern styles, including those of the North Carolina/Tennessee border regions, becoming fluent in the harmonies and phrasing that make each region’s music unique.

In 2009, Adam co-founded the duo Twilite Broadcasters with Asheville resident Mark Jackson. Tanner and Jackson played string band music from both the old time repertoire and the early bluegrass canon, featuring close duet singing and Adam’s solid mandolin playing. They performed for several years throughout Western North Carolina and beyond.

Now former Faculty Member of East Tennessee University, The Swannanoa Gathering and Mars Hill College Blue Ridge Old Time Music Week has had Adam on staff multiple times in the last several years to teach fiddle, guitar, and mandolin to students of all ages and skill.

Adam’s latest creative project, Blue Ridge Wedding Music, is yet another opportunity for collaboration with some of the finest traditional Appalachian and Swing musicians Western North Carolina has in residency. Fortunately, they are available to channel songs from the past and perform them live in the very region where this distinct style of music was conceived.

Adam has been providing Appalachian music for weddings for over 22 years. Invite him to re-create the authentic music of the Blue Ridge Mountains on your special day and start your new life as a couple together creating those “next-level” memories.