Jim Hurst

These days, admirers of bluegrass often regard guitarist Jim Hurst with the same mountain of admiration and awe once reserved for Earl Scruggs and his dexterous fingerstyle playing. Hurst counts Scruggs among his early influences while steadily building his own reputation. In 2000 the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) nominated him for Guitar Player of the Year and simultaneously recognized the duo of Jim Hurst and Missy Raines as Emerging Artist of the Year. That same year the pair released the Pinecastle Records album Two, which drew widespread attention. The following year Hurst claimed the Guitar Player of the Year title, and the duo earned a second Emerging Artist of the Year nomination. Hurst had already issued his first solo Pinecastle project, Open Window, in 1998.

His family roots lie deep in the Kentucky soil that birthed mountain music. Although born after his parents left Frakes, KY, for Ohio, Hurst received their southern traditions and love of music. The household record player regularly spun sides by Flatt & Scruggs, the Carter Family, Bill Monroe, Reno & Smiley, and the Stanley Brothers, and the family joined in with voices and guitars. Hurst began playing the instrument around age four. Only at roughly thirty did he move to Nashville to pursue music professionally. There his singing secured work with Trisha Yearwood, Holly Dunn, the McCarter Sisters, and Sara Evans, while road tours and victories in banjo, mandolin, and guitar competitions filled his schedule. By the mid-'90s he had joined the Front Porch String Band, the Claire Lynch group that also featured Raines.

Beyond performing and recording, Hurst teaches at music camps throughout the United States. He also leads the Jim Hurst Band, whose members include fiddler Joel Whittinghill, mandolinist Michael McLain, banjoist Casey Henry, and bassist Todd Cook.