James McKinney

James McKinney is both a Scruggs and Reno style expert, one of the foremost jazz players of the bluegrass banjo world, and one of the most technically precise banjoists around. He won the Southern U.S. Banjo Championship at age 15. Before long he had won dozens of state and regional championships, including the National Banjo Championship at Winfield, Kansas. He made the first of several appearances on the Grand Ole Opry at age 19 and worked for a time at Opryland theme park as a banjoist and musical arranger. James moved to Nashville in 1990 to play full time in the James and Angela McKinney Band; he also did studio and touring work out of Nashville. James is a dedicated banjo teacher, he has taught countless workshops, and he has been on the staff at a number of major banjo camps, including the Smokey Mountain Banjo Academy, SPBGMA workshop, Suwannee Banjo Camp, and American Banjo Camp. He has performed and/or recorded with the likes of Vassar Clements, Porter Wagoner, Barbara Mandrell, John Hartford, and Johnny Cash. He now lives in Atlanta and plays with his wife, Niki Portmann in his latest band, The Night Riders. His latest CD is Mind Over Banjo.