The East Tennessee State University Bluegrass Pride Band is comprised of virtuosic and award-winning student performers with many years of musical experience accounted to each member. As one of the Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music Studies program’s 25+ bands, the group has performed in seven foreign countries and at noteworthy venues including the Smithsonian National Folklife Festival, NATO Headquarters in Brussels, the Kennedy Center, and frequently performs at bluegrass festivals across the country.

Directed by Dan Boner, the Spring 2023 ETSU Bluegrass Pride Band includes Steven Ivey on fiddle, Lydia Hamby on mandolin, Will Potts on bass, Will Hart on guitar, Gabriel Herbert on banjo, and Lizzie Cahalan on guitar. Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music Studies at East Tennessee State University is the oldest established program of its kind at any four-year institution. Founded in 1982 by Jack Tottle, the program offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music Studies with concentrations in Bluegrass Music Profession, Old-Time Music, Audio Production, and Scottish and Irish Music, as well as an undergraduates minors. Students from around the globe are attracted to ETSU for the chance to study and experience the music and Appalachian culture of East Tennessee.