John McEuen
John McEuen of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band fame released an autobiography in 2018 titled The Life I’ve Picked. The spoken word version of the book is set for release next spring, and it will be enhanced with original songs, additional stories and some of John’s film score music. He also has an illustrated book set for release based on the Stephen Vincent Benet poem The Mountain Whipporwill. In addition, John has two coffee table books set for release 2021. The first, titled The Russian Trip, features over 200 photos (many unreleased) chronicling the NGDB’s famous tour of the Soviet Union in 1977. They were the first US band to be allowed behind the Iron Curtain, playing 28 sold out shows in the spring and summer of that year. The second, titled 50 Years- The Circle Album Keeps Going features almost 100 photos from the recording sessions for Will The Circle Be Broken- Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s 1972 album hailed by Rolling Stone as the most important record to come out of Nashville. www.johnmceuen.com
Bio
A founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (now in their 44th year) John McEuen has been continually performing since 1964- logging 8,500 concerts and 300 television appearances while traveling more than 3 million miles on the road - both with the band and as a solo performer. He brings his guitar, banjo, fiddle and mandolin along with him to perform crowd favorite Dirt Band songs and tell the stories behind them. This past October John was honored with the Folk Alliance Organization’s “Best in the West Award” for his solo performances, and his Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in 2015.
McEuen has made over 40 albums (6 solo) and has earned four platinum and five gold recognition awards, Grammy nominations and wins, CMA and ACM awards and an Emmy nomination. He’s performed on another 25 albums as a guest artist and produced more than 300 concerts throughout his career. The first concert production was in 1965 in Long Beach California for a young troubadour named Bob Dylan.
His production of Steve Martin’s The Crow won the 2010 Grammy award for Best Bluegrass Album Of The Year, and his popular “Acoustic Traveler” show on Sirius/XM's The Village is now in its 5th year. McEuen also produced and directed the 2006 documentary film The Dillards - A Night In the Ozarks, which captures a live performance of some of his early mentors at their best.
John McEuen's countless performances include everything from picking with street performers to joining the likes of Phish, Earl Scruggs and Levon Helm on stage… and even a memorable performance on Sesame Street with a herd of goats and a cow! Arguably, McEuen's most important legacy may be his instigation of what Rolling Stone called “The most important record to come out of Nashville” and what a 2004 ZAGAT survey called “the most important record in country music” Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s 1972 album Will the Circle Be Unbroken.