The Plaid Mountain Boys are known throughout Cedar Mountain for their high energy mountain tunes and traditional songs. The Plaids are Mark Queen on Guitar, Tim Gardner on Fiddle, Owen Grooms on Banjo, and Jonathan Gray on Upright Bass.

Mark Queen grew up immersed in mountain music, as he hails from the well known Queen family that has won numerous state and national awards for their achievements and contributions to mountain lore and culture. His grandmother Mary Jane was a famous ballad singer, and the rest of his family played and sang mountain music, both old time and bluegrass.

Tim Gardner is a North Carolina based multi-instrumentalist, recording artist, and banjo maker. Tim grew up in a musical family playing an eclectic blend of old-time string band music, early folk songs, and southern swing. Always keeping a broad view of the mountain music landscape, he is currently touring with the rising contemporary bluegrass group Unspoken Tradition.

Jonathan Gray is a professional musician and educator. As an upright bassist, he has toured extensively in North America and Europe in over 25 countries with bands such as Jump Little Children, Howie Day, William Fitzsimmons, Slow Runner, Josh Hoge, Cordovas, Pretty Little Goat, Amanda Shires, and many others. Jonathan has performed in venues as varied as dive bars in Prague to cathedrals in Germany to honkey tonks in Wyoming and the Filmore in San Francisco. He has played for numerous performances on international television and radio, including appearances on Late Night with David Letterman and The Tonight Show.

Owen Grooms is a multi instrumentalist who plays in several regional bands, teaches music to folks of all ages, and hosts music at the Canteen on Monday nights. You can catch him with such artists as Pretty Little Goat, Jenn and Owen, The Harrows, and more.

Photo by Ken Voltz