photo by Carrie Hemlock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RT23 Bios

Ernie Thacker

Though he's still a young man, ERNIE THACKER has quite a record of accomplishment in bluegrass, including a six year stint with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mt. Boys and appearances on both the Grammy-nominated The Stanley Tradition and its IBMA award winning successor, The Stanley Gospel Tradition.

Born and raised in Elyria Ohio, Thacker nevertheless has deep roots, including a family connection to Dickenson County, Virginia, where he moved as a teenager. By then he was already a serious mandolin player and singer, and it wasn't long before he came to the attention of Ralph Stanley. Impressed with the young man's talent, Stanley invited him to travel with the Clinch Mt. Boys, and eventually made him a member of the band - first as mandolin player and then, in 1989, as lead singer and guitarist.

Ernie Thacker and Route 23 may be a young outfit, but their classic sound, energetic stage presence and commitment to professionalism have already earned notice from veterans in the bluegrass industry, resulting in their appearance among the top 20 nominees for the IBMA's Emerging Artist Of The Year Award for the years of 1999 and 2000. " Great stage presence, hgh energy and great crowd pleasers," says Dwight Dillman (IBMA's Promoter Of The Year) of the Bean Blossom Festivals, where the band has appeared in every season since its creation, while the Poppy Mountain Festival's Marty Stevens called them "One of the hottest new traditional groups on the circuit" .

"Ernie has a great voice, and a special feel for traditional bluegrass and the Stanley sound, "says Doobie Shea's Tim Austin, who with Dan Tyminski co-produced the singer's debut for the label. "with first-rate material from wriiters like Keith Tew, Ronnie Bowman, Jerry Wlliamson and Junor Siisk, and guests like Aubrey Haynie, Dan, as well as Route 23, I think he's going to open a lot of eyes."

 

Singing the National Anthem Daytona FL, July 02
The highest honnor ever, was being asked to sing the National Anthem at the GNC Live Well Busch race in Daytona FL, over 130,000 in the stands and over a million viewers tuned in across the country on the FX network...