Bobby Osborne

Bluegrass is one of the few areas of American music in which the mandolin really gets to shine, and Kentucky-born Bobby Osborne continues to take advantage of that spotlight into his late 70s. As part of the Osborne Brothers group from the late '50s onward, he helped to keep bluegrass relevant to modern audiences—the band expanded the traditional format to include such elements as electric instruments and dual banjos. More recently presiding over his band The Rocky Top X-Press from beneath a broad-brimmed hat, Osborne continued to rip confidently through old bluegrass standards and originals on 2009's Bluegrass And Beyond. 

Updated 03/29/2010