Orrin Star

Orrin Star earned distinction as the earliest New England performer to capture the National Flatpicking Championship. Victory arrived at the Winfield, KS, contest in 1976, only seven years after he witnessed Doc Watson on stage and resolved to master flatpicking himself. A player of mandolin, banjo, and guitar, Star first encountered roots music via household tapes spun by his family. He and his brothers absorbed their father’s affection for the Clancy Brothers and for Joan Baez’s repertoire.

During his teenage summers at a Connecticut camp, Star’s urge to perform took hold after a counselor played Delta blues guitar. A live appearance by the Rev. Gary Davis supplied additional impetus. Back home in New Jersey, he began transcribing numbers from vintage blues discs and started frequenting folk festivals and meetings of the Princeton Folk Music Society.

The year 1969 marked his initial sighting of Watson’s flatpicking at a festival. Following the 1976 championship, Star joined forces with Boston-based Gary Mehalick. Across eight years the duo recorded two albums, appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, and maintained a steady touring schedule before Star launched a solo career. For five years he balanced musical engagements with stand-up comedy in the Boston area. In addition to performing and recording, he wrote the instructional volume Hot Licks for Bluegrass Guitar, conducts workshops and private guitar lessons, and supplies a column to Flatpicking Guitar Magazine. Brooklyn has been his base since 1993, where he leads the band Orrin Star & the Sultans of String.