THE NEW ENGLAND BLUEGRASS BAND (NEBgB) performs crafted songs rooted in traditional styles. With recognized master intrumentalists and a top shelf vocal ensemble, the band includes members who are recognized far and wide for having paid their dues.

The band members have credentials that include national and international touring and collaborations with such national bluegrass luminaries as: J.D. Crowe, Tony Rice, Don Stover, Joe Val, Auldridge, Bennett & Gaudreau. With flatpicking championships and IBMA Instrumentalist of The Year nominations, the band is truly on the very highest levels of musicianship and entertainment. Always approachable and entertaining with any audience, these fella's have a fantastic stage presence; can rip it up and tear it down and keep a crowd entertained. This band is one of true bluegrass professionals.

CECIL ABELS was born into singing. Growing up in Mississippi, listening to his three sisters and mother sing intricate vocal harmonies in all kinds of family folk songs and spirituals. The family record collection of his youth included 50’s & 60’s Country records, Soul and Gospel, and his big ears were filled with popular music of his sisters' preference coming out of WLS in Chicago. He sang everything, and knew the pure joy of singing and harmony very early in life.

In Junior High School he began to buy his own music and thanks to influences of schoolmates of unusual musical proclivity (songwriter Mac McAnally was a close pal) became aware of and a consumer of other "non-popular" musical styles. From The Beatles to Red Foley, Procol Harum to Johnny Cash, Gram Parsons, Jerry Jeff Walker, J. Buffett, Dan Hicks and High School musical mentor Jackson Browne. Then a record from musician/banjo player John Hartford called "Aeroplane" began a long journey through a bluegrass repertoire of old and new masters that continues to grow every day. During a career in the U.S. Navy, he rarely was without his guitar, playing before an entire ships company off Haiti, at a roughshod bar in the mountains of Korea, in the Ropongi district of Tokyo, or the BOQ’s of Iceland and Guam.

LINCOLN MEYERS was born and raised in the Midwest, spending long hours of his early teens teaching himself the guitar. "My dad was a jazz DJ" Lincoln recalls "he always wanted me to listen to great players. I got serious about the guitar when I was 15." During college Lincoln and some local pickers formed the "Missouri Breaks" and played bluegrass festivals in and around Missouri. This allowed Lincoln to hone his bluegrass skills as a rhythm player as well as a flat-picker and eventually brought him to the National Flat-picking Championships in Winfield, Kansas he was a "Top Five" contestant.

Following a stint in the Marine Corps he landed in Virginia and was lucky enough to meet up and jam with the likes of Sammy Shelor, Rickie Simpkins and Wyatt Rice, to name a few. Moving to New England in the early 90’s, Lincoln has placed himself in the top tier of guitarists in the region. While Lincoln has never been one to seek "titles" he has nevertheless won many guitar contests, most recently the New England Guitar Flatpicking Championship. While one may hear influences of Doc Watson, Tony Rice, Norman Blake, David Grier and others, Lincoln has developed a instantly recognizable style that is unique and very much his own. (No official position on cloning.)

He has been an important part of numerous bands and recording projects througout the region including The Bogus Family, Adam Dewey and Crazy Creek, Erica Brown and the Bluegrass Connection, and for the past Five years, The New England Bluegrass Band. Selected last year to record for the well respected "Seacoast Guitar Society" compilation and recently as host band member for National Public Radio's syndicated program, "Says You." Lincoln's well deserved reputation continues to grow across many spectrums.

RON CODY, 5-string banjo, was raised in Andover, Connecticut, where he began studying banjo at the age of 15. An eager student, his teachers included Michael Kropp and Tony Trischka. He was a member of the Connecticut-based group Grass Avenue and The Robin Kincaid Band with Stacey Phillips. In 1992 he formed Fretwater and has recorded two CDs with the group.  Ron has taught banjo in bluegrass, Irish and jazz styles and is an artist endorser for the Mockingbird Music Company. He currently lives with his wife Wendy and their three sons in Yarmouth, Maine.

“I first met Ron when he was about 17, well scrubbed and earnest. He obviously was talented, and as the years went by, he developed into the fine, well-rounded banjoist he is today. Whether crossfired with drums, smoothly navigating his own creatively progressive compositions, or acoustically firing up a bluegrass standard with his own wide-ranging improvisational sorties, Ron can hit from all sides. Now put this guy out there and give him some room to run.”     -- Tony Trischka

JON ROSS is probably the Seacoast's most respected sideman, appearing in so many bands over his career it is impossible to list them all. Notably they include "Neil and the Nightlifes", "The Lex & Joe Blueswing", and the Larry Garland and Monster Mike Welch bands. Lately he has been stepping out as a front man, showcasing his talents as a singer/guitarist and bandleader. He most often plays electric and stand-up bass, but also is a superb guitarist and a solid drummer. He is most often found playing blues and swing, but he is a fine folk and bluegrass musician also.

JOE WALSH recently moved to Boston to enroll as the first Mandolin Performance student at Berklee College of Music.  His time at Berklee has opened some doors, though, as he's had opportunities to share the stage with the likes of Bela Fleck, Earl Scruggs, and Ricky Skaggs, among others.    "Joe is on the verge of becoming a major talent on the mandolin scene" – Mandolin virtuoso Peter Ostroushko.

NEBgB Alumni

PETE "SUITCASE" SOUKAS, "bass player for the stars" was a founding member of The New England Bluegrass Band, and is crucial to the bands musical cohesiveness. During a stint in the Air Force in the late '50's, Pete played guitar with a barracks mate who became a nationally known star, Boxcar Willie. "Suitcase's" tenure has included not only some of the finest outfits in the regional area including "Stonewall Bluegrass, "Blue Diamond Bluegrass" he was also called on to play on a national tours with Bluegrass luminaries such as Auldridge, Bennett, Gaudreau, as well as super stars like Tony Rice and J.D. Crowe.

As remarked by some of the worlds best bluegrass musicians, Pete is the Real Deal. A back sugery in 2003 put a scare into the band while he dealt with the inability to play music, luckily for all, he is back in the saddle and playing the bass with the rock solid rythm, notation and tone of a true master.

ROGER WILLIAMS has been playing the resophonic, Dobro style guitar since 1963, when he was just a young teenager. Within the first year, he had already debuted with The Lilly Bros. and Don Stover at the Hillbilly Ranch in Boston, Mass. where they had performed for nearly two decades.

Since then he has gone on to perform and record with many well respected Bluegrass and folk acts on the national and international circuit. These include: Don Stover,White Mountain Bluegrass, Hazel Dickens, Joe Val, Bill Harrel, Delia Bell & Bill Grant, Salamander Crossing, Southern Rail, Ray Legere, Wyatt Rice, Mark Schatz, Mac Wiseman, Slavek Hanzlik, Mark Erelli, Hiro Arita...the list goes on. The accolades he has received over the years are a testament to his musicianship. Roger also has recorded three projects of his own.

CHRIS PANDOLFI started playing the banjo at age 18. After only a few months he was studying with banjo luminary Tony Trischka in New York City. During college Chris performed with a variety of acts ranging from electric fusion to traditional bluegrass. He spent his junior year in San Francisco performing and studying with Bill Evans and was later accepted as the first ever banjo principal at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he currently resides.