Ross Holmes

Ross Holmes
Holmes with Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 2024.
Background information
Born	(1984-06-14) June 14, 1984 Fort Worth, Texas
Genres	Folk, Bluegrass, Classical, Folk rock
Occupation(s)	Violinist, Fiddler, Composer and Producer
Instrument(s)	Vocals, fiddle, mandolin
Years active	2002–present
Member of	Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Formerly of	Cadillac Sky
Website	http://rossholmes.net/

Elliott Ross Holmes (born June 14, 1984) is an American violinist, fiddler, composer and producer known for his progressive style that is genre fluid, mixing old and new world styles. Since 2018, Holmes has been a member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

Early life

Growing up in Fort Worth, Texas, Holmes was inspired by the Texas music scene and competitive fiddle playing. His Grandfather played the violin and that was Ross’s first introduction to the instrument. At the age of 8, his younger sister (Katie Shore from Asleep at the Wheel) started taking fiddle lessons and this quickly piqued Ross’s interest to learn the instrument for himself.

Holmes foundational training combined Texas contest fiddle and classical styles taught to him by his mentors, Texas fiddlers Jimmie Don Bates, Joey McKenzie and Dr. Kurt Sprenger of the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra. At the age of 11, Holmes enrolled in the Mark O’Connor string camp which acted as a major catalyst for him to pursue a career in music. Additionally, his background and training as a member of the Texas Boys Choir was Holmes first exposure as a touring musician across the U.S.

Music career

Holmes has worked with famous bands and artists such as Mumford & Sons, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers, Warren Haynes, Ryan Bingham, Bela Fleck, Abigail Washburn, and Keith & Kristyn Getty. He is a founding member of progressive Bluegrass group, Cadillac Sky.

Mumford & Sons, Austin City Limits, 2011

Cadillac Sky

Cadillac Sky formed in 2002 when Holmes met founding members Bryan Simpson (vocals, mandolin), Matt Menefee (banjo) in Texas. The group’s early years reflected a more traditional bluegrass sound, which evolved to the progressive bluegrass style they were later acclaimed for.

The ensemble got a foothold touring regionally around the south. When their progress was interrupted in 2004, Holmes drove overnight to Nashville for an audition with fast-rising country traditionalist, Josh Turner. Holmes earned his first industry experience on the road with the baritone star.

Cadillac Sky became active again in 2006 with the group signing to the Skaggs Family label. They released their debut album, Blind Man Walking; which reached number two on the US Grass Billboard Charts. Later on in the winter of 2011 Cadillac Sky disbanded, declaring a hiatus.

Mumford and Sons

With Cadillac Sky on hiatus, Mumford & Sons invited Ross to be their fiddle player. He toured globally as the band evolved to one of the largest pop sensations, making headline appearances for 250,000 people at the Glastonbury Festival, Lollapalooza in Chicago, and Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

Holmes joined Railroad Revival Tour, a multi-day jaunt that Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show traveled by a 14-car train from Oakland to New Orleans, playing six concerts along the way. A documentary called Big Easy Express developed out of this tour, directed by Emmett Malloy premiered at SXSW 2012 and won a Grammy Award in 2013.

Holmes became a deep contributor to Mumford & Sons where he acted as arranger for the string parts for the band’s anticipated second album Babel. The album went on to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2012 in which Holmes was recognized for his role by The Recording Academy.

ChessBoxer

In 2010, Holmes's musical explorations with Cadillac Sky banjo player Matt Menefee evolved into a duo project called ChessBoxer. The style reflected a movement to the Newgrass sound by combining genres of bluegrass, folk and rock. In 2013 Holmes and Menefee self-released their debut EP ChessBoxer. In 2014, double bassist Royal Masat became a member of ChessBoxer. In 2015, the trio self-released their second recorded work, Apollo EP, while supporting guitarist Warren Haynes on the international Ashes & Dust Tour.

Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers

In 2013 Holmes received a phone call from Bruce Hornsby who expressed interest in working with him. Holmes became a member of Hornsby’s touring band, the Noisemakers, and from 2014–2017 played fiddle and mandolin on tour and on Hornsby's latest studio release, Rehab Reunion. Holmes became indispensable to the new sound of the band but left in 2018 when he was invited to become a member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

In Jan 2018, Holmes was invited to join the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for several shows as a substitute after John McEuen's departure from the band in the fall of 2017. After establishing a rapport with the band, Holmes was invited to become a member of NGDB along with Jaime Hanna, son of Jeff Hanna.

Debut Release

On October 23, 2018, Holmes self-released his debut album, "Not Very Good at Winning," a collection of 12 Texas-style contest fiddle tunes recorded in 360° sound at Southern Ground Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. The album is the first solo unaccompanied recording of Texas-style contest fiddle tunes since Eck Robertson recorded in New York City June 30 and July 1, 1922.

Discography

Cadillac Sky (Band member – Fiddle, Vocals, Writer, and Misc instruments)

Year	Work	Record Label
2003	Talent Show	Self Release
2007	Blind Man Walking	Skaggs Family Records
2009	Gravity's Our Enemy	Self Release
2010	Weary Angel EP	Self Release
2010	Letter's In The Deep	Dualtone Records

Mumford & Sons (Touring member – Fiddle, Misc instruments, Arranger)

Year	Work	Record Label
2012	Big Easy Express	GathrFilms
2012	Babel	Glassnote Records
2012	The Road to Red Rocks	Glassnote Records

Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers (Band member – Fiddle, Mandolin, Vocals)

Year	Work	Record Label
2016	Rehab Reunion	429 Records

ChessBoxer (Band member – Fiddle, Vocals, Writer, and Misc instruments)

Year	Work	Record Label
2012	ChessBoxer (Self Titled)	Self Release
2015	Apollo EP	Self Release

Solo (Fiddle, Arranger, Producer)

Year	Work	Record Label
2018	Not Very Good At Winning	Ross Holmes

Producer

Year	Title	Artist
2015	Fall Away	Katie Shore
2016	Unarmored	Sam Burchfield
2017	Wooden	Ben Sparaco

See also

• Mumford & Sons
• Cadillac Sky