Women in Bluegrass Newsletter Archive, Reader’s Edition

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Casey Henry

Casey Henry is a banjo player, teacher, and writer. She is the daughter of banjo player Murphy Henry and mandolinist Red Henry. She was born in Florida and moved with her family to Winchester, Virginia, at age eight. She played ukulele, piano, and flute as a child, took up bass at 12, and joined her parents' band, Red and Murphy and Their Excellent Children, at 14. She switched to banjo a year later. She played in local and regional bands while at the University of Virginia, where she graduated in 2000 with a BA in English and Women's Studies. That year she released her debut album, Real Women Drive Trucks. She moved to Nashville in early 2001 and performed with June Carter Cash, the Jim Hurst Band, Pat Flynn, Lizzie Long, and Tennessee Heartstrings. She was also in an early lineup of the old-time band Uncle Earl. She then spent two years with the Dixie Bee-Liners and first played the Grand Ole Opry on April 4, 2009, backing Michael Martin Murphey. She teaches banjo through her parents' Murphy Method instructional series, gives private lessons in Winchester and online, and co-hosts banjo camps with her mother.

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