Blue Moon Rising   -  Biography

Bluegrass band Blue Moon Rising unite several pickers (and songwriters) from Tennessee and Kentucky, blending contemporary and traditional bluegrass styles.

Keith Garrett plays mandolin and sings lead and baritone for Blue Moon Rising. Keith's dad, William Garrett, taught him to play the guitar at the age of 13. William Garrett has contributed some great songs to the band, two of which ("Mountain Boy" and "My Love Will Never Die") appear on Blue Moon Rising's debut CD. Keith does some song writing himself and penned the tune, "Jeffrey's Hell," "Moonshine Hard Times" and some co-writes. He is heavily influenced by the music of Bill Monroe, the Stanley Brothers and Tony Rice. He lives in Citico, Tenn.

Chris West plays guitar and sings lead, tenor and baritone vocals and writes much of the band's original material. He was taught to play guitar at the age of 13 by his uncle, Tony Thomas, and has played in several different bands with Tony through the years. Along with Tony, West was influenced heavily at an early age by artists such as the Knoxville Grass, Boone Creek, Tony Rice, Del McCoury, Bill Monroe and the Stanley Brothers. He lives in Lake City, Tenn.

Tim Tipton plays the acoustic bass for Blue Moon Rising. He credits his grandfather as being his earliest musical influence and says his grandfather was the first person to introduce him to bluegrass. Coincidentally, Tipton credits William Garrett (Keith Garrett's father) for showing him his first chords on a bass fiddle. He is heavily influenced by the music of Bill Monroe, Lou Reid, New Grass Revival, Ricky Skaggs and Del McCoury. He lives in Madisonville, Tenn.

Justin Jenkins plays the banjo for Blue Moon Rising. He started playing at age 6 and was a regular member of the Renfro Valley Barn Dance in Renfro Valley, Ky., from 1998 to 2003. In October 2003, he first appeared on the Grand Ole Opry as a guest of Mike Snider. Jenkins has always enjoyed the music of J. D. Crowe and the New South, Flatt & Scruggs, the Lonesome River Band and Mountain Heart. He resides in Harrodsburg, Ky.

Born and raised in East Tennessee, Justin "Dusty" Moses has been playing music since he was six. He began performing with his family's gospel group in churches soon after learning his first chords on the mandolin. As a teen he won several awards for his playing at regional contests. Shortly after graduating high school he joined the band Kentucky Wind, which included Tipton and Garrett. He then helped form Blue Moon Rising in late 2000. After leaving the band in 2004 he became a founding member of the band Sierra Hull & Highway 111 and performed at several prestigious festivals with them in 2005. He rejoined BMR in 2006 singing tenor and playing dobro and fiddle. He lives in Madisonville, Tenn.