Mountain Heart

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Mountain Heart is an American bluegrass music band. The current lineup is:

Barry Abernathy - banjo and vocals

Steve Gulley - guitar and vocals

Clay Jones - guitar and vocals

Jason Moore - acoustic bass and vocals

Adam Steffey - mandolin and vocals

Jim Van Cleve - fiddle and vocals

1 History
2 Awards and Recognition
3 Discography
4 Links

[edit] History

The band was formed in 1998 by Gulley, Abernathy, Steffey, and Van Cleve. Johnny Dowdle was the original bass player. For a short period, Steffey left the band to play with The Isaacs, a bluegrass gospel group. During that period, Steffey was replaced by mandolinist Alan Perdue.

After Steffey's return to the group, Mountain Heart added virtuoso guitarist Clay Jones to the lineup. The addition of Jones provided the group another lead instrument. He also enabled the group to create a more dynamic, textured sound.

[edit] Awards and Recognition

The group's instrumental and vocal prowess are widely acclaimed in bluegrass and other acoustic music circles. The band was awarded the IBMA Emerging Artist of the Year award in 1999. They have been nominated for several other IBMA awards, including "Instrumental Group of the Year for 2006. Adam Steffey has won four IBMA awards for "Mandolin Performer of the Year", and Jason Moore has been nominated for "Bass Performer of the Year" for 2006.