Reed Stutz

Reed Stutz brings instrumental fluency and a unique voice to string band music, artfully complementing whatever music he is a part of. As a mandolin player, multi-instrumentalist and singer, he has performed around the country with musicians including Alice Gerrard & Tatiana Hargreaves, Bella White, Bruce Molsky & Allison de Groot, and George Jackson, playing at festivals such as Grey Fox, IBMA World of Bluegrass, Porch Pride, and Old Tone Roots Music Festival. His mandolin playing and singing can be heard all over Bella White’s acclaimed debut album “Just Like Leaving” on Rounder Records, and he appears on Joe Troop’s album “Borrowed Time.”

Growing up in Portland, Oregon as a pop-punk guitar player and songwriter, Reed shifted gears in 2017 after being struck by a 1920s string band recording. He began digging into old time and bluegrass music and developing his style as a mandolinist, guitarist and singer — a colorful blend of tradition and personality. Reed completed a capstone project before graduating from Berklee College of Music exploring the mandolin playing of David McLaughlin, where he transcribed thirty solos of David’s playing with the Johnson Mountain Boys. His close study of David McLaughlin and other sources of inspiration across bluegrass and old time are apparent in his playing. This also comes across in his teaching, where he has worked for five years giving private lessons and taught at camps including Ashokan's Bluegrass Week and the Old-Time Rollick.

Reed moved to Durham, North Carolina in 2020 and performs regularly in the area with locals Alice Gerrard, Joseph Decosimo, Tatiana Hargreaves, Joe Troop, The Carolina Cutups and other bluegrass and old time groups.

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