Gary Brewer and the Kentucky Ramblers

Gary Brewer comes by what he does honestly. Finley J. "Pap" Brewer (Gary's Grandfather) was featured all the time on radio (in Knoxville) and, in his younger days, was included on many shows with the original Carter Family. Gary formed Gary Brewer and the Kentucky Ramblers at the young age of 14 years old. Most of his time as a child and young adult was devoted to playing music with his father.

He started out his musical interest in Rock N' Roll, and even participated in his high school talent show with a group of friends doing some Rock N' Roll Classics. Being raised by a couple of Bluegrass musicians, he was surrounded by Bluegrass music and Old-time Mountain Music. He realized just how much they had influenced him once he was in a difficult accident, breaking his leg and putting him in the hospital. He was laid up with nothing much he could do. Since his electric guitar was out of the question, his dad brought him an acoustic guitar to play. Gary played his guitar and before too long, he was playing songs Finley J. had been listening to all of Gary's life; songs by such notable stars as Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, and the Stanley Brothers. After Gary healed, he went to jam at a buddy's house. While he planned to jam strictly Rock N' Roll, he saw a mandolin, banjo, and an acoustic guitar. They jammed Bluegrass tunes instead. Once he got home, he decided to form a band of his own.[4]

All these years later, Gary has released nearly 50 recordings including Bluegrass artists such as Bill Monroe, J.D. Crowe, Uncle Josh Graves, Doyle Lawson, Larry Sparks, Dave Evans, and many more.[6]

Gary had Bill Monroe on his Guitar[7] CD along with Uncle Josh Graves.[8] He took pride in knowing he was the only one to ever get Bill Monroe and Uncle Josh Graves into the studio together. Because of Gary's Guitar album, he was a nominee and finalist for Guitar Player of the Year at the IBMAs in 2000.[3]

Gary also did an all-star tribute album to the King of Bluegrass, Jimmy Martin, before he passed. He titled it Jimmy Martin Songs for Dinner[9] in correlation with the song, Jimmy Martin Songs for Dinner (written by Tom T. Hall) which made Gary a nominee and finalist at the IBMAs for Song of the Year in 2000.[3][10]

Finley J. (Jim) Brewer is Gary Brewer's father. He was born into Bluegrass and raised by Finley J. Brewer Sr. Jim started his music career in the 1950s.[3] Now, he tours and performs with Gary Brewer and the Kentucky Ramblers singing harmony vocals, lead vocals, and playing rhythm guitar.[11]

Gary "Wayne" Brewer Jr. is Gary Brewer's older son. Performing most of his life with his dad,[2] Wayne now is part of Gary Brewer and the Kentucky Ramblers singing harmony vocals, and playing Upright Bass and Fiddle.[12] Wayne was featured on the band's most recent release Homestretch.[13] He stars in both music videos off of Homestretch: Derby City Flash and Brownlo.

In 2016, Wayne released his debut fiddle album featuring such notable guests as Steve Day, Michael Cleveland, Dan Boner, Dan Kelly, and Raymond McLain. He included 10 tracks of Old-time fiddle tunes.[14] He titled his CD The Kentucky Fiddler.[15] He included Gary Brewer and the Kentucky Ramblers on his CD as well (Gary Brewer, Finley J. Brewer, and Mason Brewer).

On October 3, 2015, Wayne Brewer married his wife Alyssa Brewer. Now, they work together in the music and live on the family farm.[16]

Wayne, along with Gary Brewer and the Kentucky Ramblers, traveled to Nashville, TN to the Grand Ole Opry to celebrate the late Dr. Ralph Stanley at "The Dr. Ralph Stanley Forever Tribute".[17]

Mason Brewer is Gary Brewer's younger son. Like his brother, music is in his blood. He has spent most of his life performing with his family. Today, Mason performs with Gary Brewer and the Kentucky Ramblers as his mandolin player, part-time upright bass player,[18] and singing harmony vocals. Mason was featured on the most recent album, Homestretch.[19] He stars in both music videos off of Homestretch: Derby City Flash and Brownlo.[20][21] Mason was on Wayne Brewer's debut fiddle album playing mandolin and upright bass in 2016.[14]

Mason, along with Gary Brewer and the Kentucky Ramblers, traveled to Nashville, TN to the Grand Ole Opry to celebrate the late Dr. Ralph Stanley at "The Dr. Ralph Stanley Forever Tribute".[18]

After many different hosts had let the show go down, Gary Brewer and the Kentucky Ramblers took over hosting the Friday Night Bluegrass concert series back in 2014.[22] Currently located in Shepherdsville, KY, they bring in local, national, and regional acts each week. Gary Brewer's goal was to give the people of Kentucky a show barn to attend for Live Bluegrass music. He wanted to give them the full experience while performing each show themselves and featuring a guest band as well. Now an annual occurrence, the shows run from November to April.[23]

Already hosting a winter concert series, Gary Brewer and the Kentucky Ramblers connected with the Outlet Shoppes of the Bluegrass and created a summer concert series called Bluegrass Summer Nights. Free concerts are offered during the summer months for shoppers.[24] Just like the Friday Night Bluegrass show, Gary Brewer brings in local, national, and regional touring bands to guest on the Bluegrass Summer Nights lineup.[25]

Among producing other events, Gary Brewer and the Kentucky Ramblers host a bi-annual music festival called Shin-dig in the Park. It's located in Shepherdsville, KY at the Shepherdsville City Park. The music festival takes place in Spring and Fall, and the lineup includes artists of multiple genres (Bluegrass, Country, Americana, Rock, Gospel, and more).[26] It is a free community event.

Due to the success of their Winter and Summer concert series, Gary Brewer and the Kentucky Ramblers partnered with the Outlet Shoppes of the Bluegrass transforming a former retail space into a live music venue inside of Kentucky's largest outlet mall (Brewgrass Entertainment).[27] Running from November 2019 – April 2020,[28] it's an artist residency; and is the official kick-off to Gary Brewer and the Kentucky Ramblers 40th Anniversary celebration tour.[29] Keeping live music in their home state of Kentucky is important to them for now and future generations. Brewgrass Entertainment is an intimate style venue offering guest groups from various genres (Bluegrass, Country, Americana, Gospel, and more).

Gary Brewer is a bluegrass artist who released an acoustic Country album including 13 tracks of some of the top classic Country hits (all performed by Gary Brewer and the Kentucky Ramblers). Among Bye Bye Love, Good Hearted Woman, T For Texas, Oh Lonesome Me, and various others, John Prine's Paradise is performed as a duet by Gary and teen country prodigy, EmiSunshine.[30] "Vintage Country Revival" received 2 Grammy Award nominations for Best Americana Album and Best American-Roots Performance.[31][32]

Being in the music business and on the road for 40 years, Gary Brewer has written and recorded a lot of material. In celebration of all that time and work, he decided to release an album with some of his greatest hits with a new twist and his current band.[35] "40th Anniversary Celebration" has 14 tracks and features guests on nearly all of them. Including: Sam Bush, The Travelin' McCourys, Russell Moore, Dale Ann Bradley, Doug Phelps (of the Kentucky Headhunters), T. Graham Brown, Ashton Shepherd, and Ralph Stanley II. [36]

The lead single "Goin' Up Shell Creek" received quite a bit of praise with its release prior to the full album. It was premiered by notable publication, American Songwriter, on March 23, 2020. [37] Since its premiere, "Goin' Up Shell Creek" topped the APD Global Radio Charts for nearly a month,[38] and has been played many times on Sirius XM station, Bluegrass Junction.[39] Two of the other tracks were also premiered by notable publications. Track number 13, "Big Train" (featuring Doug Phelps of Grammy-winning band, the Kentucky Headhunters), was premiered in Vents Magazine on May 22, 2020 to offer an exclusive preview of the rest of the record.[35] "Big Train" also received airplay on Sirius XM station Bluegrass Junction.[40] Track number 3, "Daddy and the Old Oak Tree", was premiered by The Bluegrass Situation on May 27, 2020.[41]

Following the release of "40th Anniversary Celebration", it received the #1 spot on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums Chart.[42] This milestone marked the first time in his career Gary Brewer and the Kentucky Ramblers topped this chart.