Ask any Old Time fiddler who their favorite young fiddler is, and Kirk Sutphin will likely be high on their list. Kirk is truly a musician’s musician. His talents on the fiddle are matched with his exceptional skill on the banjo. As a young boy, Kirk was the protégé of the famous Surry County fiddler, Tommy Jarrell. Kirk to Tommy’s own admission captured the nuance of his fiddling more than anyone.

Photo by Larry Rader
Kirk fiddling with Tommy Jarrell, 1984.

Kirk didn’t rest there. He dug deeper into the older mountain fiddling sounds of Tommy Jarrell’s dad, Ben Jarrell and the old Galax Fiddler Emmett Lundy. His focus also extends to the Piedmont. Kirk is truly a master of the music of Charlie Poole.

For the past several years Kirk has been distilling this varied musical interest into “Grandpa’s Favorites”, a new CD on Old 97 Wrecords.

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Marquee photo of Kirk by Deni McIntyre