Buck Mountain Band

The Buck Mountain Band takes its name from the legendary band active in Grayson County, Virginia, in the middle decades of the last century, a band featuring the legendary musicians Charlie Higgins and Wade Ward. The current group, also based in Grayson County, Virginia, plays regularly for dancers at the Applewood Music Park in Cana, Virginia, and the Floyd Country Store, as well as at fiddlers' conventions in Virginia and North Carolina. We've also done live concerts on WBRF, broadcast from the Rex Theatre in Galax, and have performed at the Fiddle, Banjo, and Dance Club in Dublin, Virginia.

The core of the band is composed of Bob Taylor (fiddle), Sue Taylor (guitar), Debbie Larson (bass), Larry McPeak (guitar), and Dan Peck (banjo). Alternate banjo players are Amy Boucher, Roger Wilson, and Ray Chatfield, who ably fill in when Dan is unable to make it down from Charlottesville; Katherine Higgins or Karen Carr sometimes plays bass.

The band's first CD, "Moon behind the Hills," was recorded in 2006 to excellent reviews from the Old-Time Herald ("They have done their forebears proud"), Bluegrass Unlimited ("A treasure trove and entertaining from start to finish"), and Rambles.net ("The music is lively, fresh-sounding, beautifully played and imaginatively constructed, with strong, well-chosen material").

Scheduled for release in December 2008, the band's second CD, "Chicken in the Snowbank," continues in the spirit of the first, featuring lively breakdowns, brisk two-steps, and sweet waltzes, as well as the powerful singing of Larry McPeak, who contributes traditional songs along with originals that sound hauntingly traditional. Amy Boucher adds significantly to the mix of tunes and songs with her high-spirited singing and banjo picking.