Saturday, October 30, 2004 Orrin Star

Orrin Star is a nationally recognized folk & bluegrass performer and teacher based in the Washington, DC area. Winner of the 1976 National Flatpicking Championship (the largest bluegrass guitar contest in the country), he plays guitar, banjo, mandolin, sings, and performs solo, duo and with his band Orrin Star & the Sultans of String.

His repertoire spans old-time, western swing, celtic and original songwriting in addition to more mainstream bluegrass and folk material. An accomplished storyteller and entertainer (he worked as a stand-up comic for five years in the Boston area) he has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion and has three  recordings on Flying Fish Records. He is the author of a popular guitar instruction book (“Hot Licks for Bluegrass Guitar”, Oak Publications) and a columnist for Flatpicking Guitar magazine.