Russell Johnson and Bluegrass Time

I've been performing bluegrass since 1989 and have played over 2000 shows ranging from wedding rehearsal dinners, receptions and backyard parties to national bluegrass festivals and everything in between. Once you contract with me, entertainment will be the last detail you will have to concern yourself with. I consult with my customers and help them qualify what they need as far as music - that includes everything from the size and role of the band for the event, how much music you need, inclement weather planning as well as how much production (sound and lights) is needed. I cater the music to the customer's needs, able to book trios all the way up to a full six-piece band and then program the music so there is something for everyone, even someone that may be hearing bluegrass for the first time. We'll play crowd favorites like Rocky Top, Salty Dog, and Roll in my sweet baby's arms along with toe-tapping banjo and fiddle music like Foggy Mountain Breakdown and Orange Blossom Special and then mix them in with covers of songs from other genres and then a few original songs that I have written that have charted on the national bluegrass charts. The bands I bring are made up of seasoned professionals - great pickers and talented singers. We will make your event special and one that you will remember.

Growing up on a farm in rural Four Oaks, North Carolina, Russell's first exposure to bluegrass was from an older brother. He got his first mandolin as a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1982, and his first “official” show was in August of 1989. Since then Russell has worn a lot of different hats in the music business such as singer, songwriter, producer, mandolinist, recording and sound engineer, band leader, record label and studio owner and educator.

A compelling songwriter Russell has charted over thirty original songs, thirteen landing on the Bluegrass Unlimited National Bluegrass Survey. (Including four #1 singles for the Grass Cats.) The Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA) has nominated him three times for Songwriter of the year and as a producer, he has nine Top Ten CDs to his credit.

As band leader and front man for three popular bands he has performed throughout much of the United States and Canada. In 1989 Russell formed New Vintage and they went on to win the Pizza Hut International Bluegrass Showdown and the SPBGMA National Band contest, both in 1993. With this success, they became a mainstay on the bluegrass festival circuit and charts for much of the 90’s. They recorded five projects including three Top Ten CDs for Pinecastle Records. Russell started The Grass Cats in 1997 with other local pickers as a “pick up band” to play small local events. When New Vintage stopped performing in October of 2000 he focused his efforts on The Grass Cats. They released nine CDs and continued to perform and record until December 2017. Currently, he performs as Russell Johnson and Friends and Diamond Creek. With an immediately recognizable bluesy tenor, Bluegrass Unlimited magazine said that his voice “has got that ‘lonesome’ quality that makes even a just written tune sound a hundred years old,” and placed him in "the first ranks of contemporary bluegrass."

Since July of 2016 Russell has been on the faculty of the music department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as the director of the Carolina Bluegrass Band. He has devoted his adult life to writing, recording and presenting genuine North Carolina style bluegrass music.

We can provide complete production, sound and lights for up to 500 people. Our equipment includes EV powered speakers, JBL and EV passive speakers, QSC power, Rane EQs, Allen and Heath and Mackie consoles, Shure and AKG mics. If production is provided, please request our stage plot.