Larry Keel
Larry Keel (born November 25, 1968 in Manassas, Virginia) is a bluegrass musician "reared in" Southwest Virginia who's been performing "seriously" since 1976. He was a founding member of Magraw Gap in 1990 with Danny Knicely and Will Lee. He performs with his wife, bassist Jenny Keel, in The Larry Keel Experience – and with other musicians in other groups. He has released over a dozen albums, the latest being "Experienced" in 2016, which he recorded with his group, Larry Keel Experience. He is married to his bass player, Jenny Keel. Biography. Early. Larry Keel was born in  Manassas, Virginia in 1968. He was taught guitar by his father James Keel, who played banjo. His brother Gary, who played guitar — and was twelve years older – bought him one when he was seven. He began playing seriously in 1975. Between 1976 and 1985 he performed bluegrass music in a number of "semi-professional situations", e.g., bluegrass and fiddler conventions, community events, barbecues, etc. In 1986 was hired by Disney as a contract musician to perform at Tokyo Disneyland when he was 18. Returning to the United States, he met bluegrass musicians John Flower and Mark Vann in Fauquier County , Virginia in 1989 and together they began exploring "progressive string music" in a band they formed named Farmer's Trust. In 1990, Mark Vann (1963–2002) moved to Telluride, Colorado to help found the "Cajun-influenced jam band" Leftover Salmon. Magraw Gap. In 1990, Keel and "long-time musical friend" Will Lee – son of guitarist Ricky Lee from Ralph Stanley's band in the 1970s – founded a "progressive string band" named Magraw Gap. Through 1993 the new group traveled throughout the Shenandoah Valley competing in bluegrass competitions, winning first place at several festivals. In 1993 Keel entered the guitar competition at  Telluride Bluegrass Festival and won first place. In 1994, Magraw Gap began touring regularly. In 1995 it won the bluegrass band competition at. Keel won the guitar competition there again in 1996. Jenny Keel. As Keel relates, Jennifer "Jenny" Newmark "was always a huge supporter of the live music scene in our area of Virginia," but somehow they'd "never crossed paths at all those jams and festivals." They met "at a little tavern in (his) town" where she came to see "one of her favorite local bluegrass heroes (Gary Ruley) play" in March 1994. When Keel "got up on  stage with Gary to pick a tune," joining Will Lee who was also sitting in that show, she was "blown away" by his musicianship, particularly by their take on the David Grisman tune "Eat My Dust". When Keel walked off stage and passed her in the crowd she told him, "That was the best E.M.D. I've ever heard!" She concludes, "You know how it goes! We traded phone numbers…it sure seemed like love at first sight . ." The future Jenny Keel had never played a stringed instrument before she met Keel. "I had played piano by ear, had been  in competition choral groups in high school (so I knew music theory, just not how to play a guitar or bass)," she says. "Getting together with Larry and his buddies made my progress in learning the bass fly along quickly." Larry Keel Experience. In September 1996, Keel split with Magraw Gap and formed the Larry Keel Experience, made up of himself on guitar, his wife on bass, and other musicians he'd worked with over the years. Over the next several years the group would record a number of "adventurous albums". Larry Keel and Natural Bridge. In January 2005 Keel  created a new band, Larry Keel & Natural Bridge — consisting of himself on guitar, his wife Jenny Keel on bass, Mark Schimick on mandolin, and Will Lee on banjo – who have toured and recorded extensively together. Recordings. Starting in 1996, when Keller Williams recorded "Buzz" with Magraw Gap as supporting musicians – and the group released their self-titled CD – Keel has been active recording with different musical acts and talents. The Larry Keel Experience 1997 "Miles & Miles" CD featured 20 special guests. In 1998 Keel worked with Curtis Burch, recent Grammy Award-winner for "The Great Dobro Sessions" produced by Jerry  Douglas and Tut Taylor. Larry Keel Experience released "Larry Keel, Curtis Burch & the Experience" with Billy Constable in 2002. Keel's 2004 "Journey" CD, recorded at his home in Natural Bridge, included guest artists David VanDeventer, Danny Knicely, Will Lee, Gary Ruley, John Flower, Robert Mabe, Slinky Cobblestone, and Morgan Morrison. In 2009 Larry Keel and Natural Bridge released and almost entirely original "Backwoods", co-produced by Keller Williams and mastered by Bill Wolf. The album received highly favorable reviews. The Wounded Messenger noted, "Perhaps no song better encapsulates the group's sound than the constantly shifting 'Crocodile Man,' which  meanders through steep, jazzy terrain often explored by progressive acoustic acts but perfected here." Larry and Jenny Keel's second album with Keller Williams, performing as Keller and the Keels, "Thief" went No. 1 on Billboard Charts and stayed there for several weeks in a row. Touring. Larry Keel tours actively with one of his many musical act combos, and with other musical acts – making appearances at major festivals across the country. In 2002, Larry Keel Experience played numerous shows with Vassar Clements and Tony Rice, including at Suwannee Springfest and MerleFest. In 2008, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge toured  and collaborated across the country with Rice, Yonder Mountain String Band, Fred Tackett, Paul Barerre, Keller Williams, Hot Tuna, and Davisson Brothers Band. In the winter of 2009, Keel joined "flatpicking guitar virtuoso" Adam Aijala of Yonder Mountain String Band on a tour of Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. Keller and the Keels performed on Jam Cruise 10 in the Caribbean in 2012. Larry Keel and Natural Bridge performed on Steep Canyon Rangers' "Mountain Song at Sea" cruise in the Bahamas in 2013, joining other acts such as Peter Rowan, Tim O'Brien, the Punch Brothers, the Del McCoury Band, the  David Grisman Sextet, and the Travelin' McCourys. Larry and Jenny Keel collaborated with Jeff Austin of Yonder Mountain String Band and Danny Barnes on tours throughout the U.S., including two appearances on the Mumford & Sons "Gentlemen of the Road" tour in Ohio and Oklahoma in 2013. In 2013 Larry and Jenny Keel appeared as the opening act at The String Cheese Incident's "Hulaween" festival in Live Oak, Florida. In 2014, The Keels appeared at the Lockn' Festival with New Grass Revival founder, Sam Bush. That same year the Larry Keel Experience played a sold-out show at the "Bluegrass  Underground" concert series in a cave in 33 feet below McMinnville, Tennessee. Larry Keel Experience finished out 2014 by hosting to a New Year's Eve show at the Oscar Blues Brewery in Brevard, North Carolina. Major acts involved in the festive show from around the region included the Jon Stickley Trio, Jeremy Garrett and Travis Book of the Infamous Stringdusters, Steve McMurry of Acoustic Syndicate, and Mike Guggino of Steep Canyon Rangers. July 2015 Keller and the Keels toured non-stop through the Deep South with Dangermuffin. Keel also performed in collaboration with Darol Anger, Sam Grisman, and Scott  Law that year, adding three sets at FloydFest in Virginia. Musical style. As NPR notes, "Keel leads a band dedicated to taking fiery, authentic bluegrass around the world." Personal. Keel is married to his bassist, Jennifer "Jenny" (née Newmark) Keel. He has a passion for fishing and has developed a number of related enterprises, including a website dedicated to sport fishing and bluegrass called Fishinandpickin.com and retreat workshops that combine these two interests. Says Keel of his twin passions, "there's a common thread that brings together a wonderful network of like-minded folks all across the world who seek  out the deep qualities that characterize both fishing and playing or listening to music. It's a mystical connection, one that brings a lot of joy and satisfaction to a world overwhelmed with so much artificiality and staleness." NOTE : As of Dec. 2020 the website is no longer active and may be for sale.