Frist Music Series: Information

Due to COVID-19 pandemic the Frist Music Series is cancelled until further notice.

Befriended and mentored by Bill Monroe, the acknowledged Father of Bluegrass Music, Mike Compton is one of today’s foremost interpreters of Monroe’s genre-creating mandolin style. Mike’s decades of touring and recording with musical luminaries range from rockstars Sting, Gregg Allman, and Elvis Costello, to straight-from-the-still acoustic legends like John Hartford, Doc Watson, Norman Blake, Peter Rowan, Ralph Stanley, and David Grisman, have established Compton as a true master of the modern American mandolin and a premier interpreter of roots and Americana musical styles.

Compton’s master of the mandolin is at once effortless and exceptional. A compelling entertainer either alone or with a group, his skills as a singer, arranger, instrumentalist, composer and accompanist also make him in-demand as a band member and ensemble player at festivals, clubs and concert halls, recording sessions, music workshops, as a private instructor, and a solo artist. With more than 140 CDS in his discography, Compton has helped keep mandolin a cool, relevant sound as the modern musical styles ebb and evolve to reach an ever broadening audience.

Equally skilled in traditional bluegrass, old-time string band music, country blues, rootsy Americana styles, and much more, Compton soars beyond easy categorization as an acoustic mandolin player and singer. Gifted at tastefully incorporating rural, roots-based lead and rhythm mandolin styles into modernAmericana music, Compton’s unique musical skillset allows him to entertain audiences ranging from rockers and urban hipsters to die-hard country, folk and bluegrass fans. Mike Compton thrives at the intersection of traditional funk and modern authenticity.