Uriah Nibbe

...remembers experiencing bluegrass music for the first time in his early childhood. While visiting his uncle's home, he came across a banjo sitting in the living room. He cautiously plucked a string. Soon, his uncle came into the room and played a few tunes for him. Little did he know that he come across that same instrument nine years later.

Uriah began taking piano lessons at the age of five from his older sisters for a few years before beginning lessons with Dan Edgren. With Dan, he learned the elements of classical, jazz, and ragtime piano styles. He competed in the MMTA State Piano Contest and twice was selected to perform in the State Honors concert at Northrop Auditorium at the University of Minnesota after receiving top scores.

On his thirteenth birthday, Uriah was given a five-string banjo. Quite taken aback, he let it sit in his room for a month before finally building up enough motivation to start practicing. From there, it was only a short time before he began to learn the basics of other instruments and discover the bluegrass scene. Graciously, his uncle let him borrow that banjo Uriah first touched as long as he wanted. He began to attend bluegrass festivals and jam sessions, making friends and jamming buddies.

After performing a banjo tune for a talent contest in the fall of 2008, Uriah was approached by Lowell Lundstrom and asked to perform as a part of the stage band for the Celebrate Bluegrass Concert he was producing. Other bands in the concert included Blue Hazard, the Platte Valley Boys, and the Johnson Family.

In 2009, Uriah entered the Kandiyohi county fair talent contest in the teen division playing a banjo solo. He took second place. However, the first place contestant could not compete at the Minnesota State Fair so Uriah received the chance to continue on. After placing first in the semi-finals, he went on to receive the title of the 2009 Minnesota State Fair County Talent Contest Teen Division Champion and the opportunity to perform his piece at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand.

For the past four years, he has been teaching students guitar and banjo both at his home or his student's home. Training future musicians and watching them excel has always been of great interest to Uriah. He has also been freelancing with a few local bands and performing for various events.

Currently, Uriah is enrolled in the Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music. There he received the chance to join the Bluegrass Masters tour along with Seth Mulder for a short trip through Wisconsin with Bobby Osborne and the Rocky Top X-press and the KSBTM Faculty Ensemble. In school, he is receiving instruction in banjo by J.P. Matthes II, guitar by Curtis Burch, and voice by Dean Osborne. He hopes to continue on performing after graduation.