John R. Miller began playing and writing music while growing up in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, an area along the Potomac River where the mountains meet Interstate 81. A co-founding member and songwriter for The Fox Hunt and Prison Book Club, he has since performed across the US, Canada, Ireland, the UK, Japan, and Europe. He has made several appearances on NPR’s Mountain Stage with Larry Groce, has been a featured songwriter and performer on the Travelin’ Appalachians Revue, and his song “Coming Down” was performed by Kentucky artist Tyler Childers on his album Live at Red Barn I & II. With the Engine Lights, the music widens into a unique cross-section of folk, country blues, and rock n roll, featuring driving fiddle, close harmonies, wily guitars, and a deep-pocket rhythm section. The most recent full-length effort, The Trouble You Follow, was released in 2018 via Lexington, KY’s Emperor Records.
FERD
Mississippi Delta roots with a spirited blend of folk, bluegrass, and blues traditions…FERD delivers traditional-sounding original tunes with a kick that is all joy, big bass, and blazing banjo.
FERD (the band) is nearly 15 years in the making. As the former fiddler and front man for the Hackensaw Boys, Ferd Moyse first met East Tennessee banjoist and singer Matt Morelock in 2007 and double-bassist Chris Stevens shortly thereafter. Ferd, Stevens, and Morelock decided to take the trio on the road in 2021 with a singular focus on Ferd’s body of timeless original songs. FERD has quickly gained the attention of fans, musicians, venues, and discerning listeners worldwide with headlining spots at the Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival, Old Tone Festival, Blackpot Festival, and venues, theatres, clubs, and campfires. FERD is set to release their first album, Feelin’ Like the Wind, in 2022. The album is a musical journey into the toils of joy we find while stumbling our way to forgiveness.
