A bluegrass musician who spent years backing up several noted artists before moving up to lead his own group, Edgar Loudermilk is a bassist and tunesmith whose music is steeped in traditional sounds while embracing an easygoing melodic sense that gives the performances a modern twist. Loudermilk first revealed his talent as a bassist working with Rhonda Vincent, Full Circle, and IIIrd Tyme Out, but with his solo debut, 2011's Roads Travelled, he made clear he was also a skilled songwriter who worked well in the classic bluegrass sound. 2019's Lonesome Riverboat Blues saw Loudermilk and his band displaying new strength in their performances and arrangements. A proud bluegrass heritage lives in Edgar Loudermilk. He's a distant relative of Ira & Charlie Louvin, the great close harmony duo (Loudermilk was their original family name, Louvin was a stage name), and his family had a band he joined when he was just nine years old. When Loudermilk turned 20, he left his family's group and started working with an act called Carolina Crossfire. While Loudermilk had been playing music simply out of love, Carolina Crossfire was successful enough that he turned professional. In 2001, Loudermilk gave notice to Carolina Crossfire and joined the road band of mandolin virtuoso and vocalist Rhonda Vincent. A year later, Loudermilk jumped ship and joined vocalist Marty Raybon (formerly of the country group Shenandoah) in his bluegrass band Full Circle. A new opportunity presented itself in 2007 when Loudermilk was hired as the bassist and tenor vocalist for the successful bluegrass combo IIIrd Tyme Out. In 2011, Loudermilk launched his solo career with the album Roads Travelled. He had a hand in writing all 11 songs, played bass, and sang tenor vocals, and his band included guitarist Shane Blackwell and mandolinist Ashby Frank from Full Circle, as well as fiddler Tim Crouch, Dobro player Randy Kohrs, and banjo man Scott Haas. Rhonda Vincent and Marty Raybon also contributed vocal features. Loudermilk's second album, My Big Chance Tomorrow, was released by Mountain Fever Records in 2013; that year he also began performing as a duo with guitarist and singer Dave Adkins, and Mountain Fever released their album Adkins and Loudermilk in 2015. In 2016, Loudermilk formed a steady group, the Edgar Loudermilk Band featuring Jeff Autry, featuring Loudermilk on bass, Jeff Autry on vocals and guitar, Zack Autry on mandolin, Dylan Armour on Dobro guitar, and Curtis Bumgarner on banjo. While the 2016 album Georgia Maple (released by noted bluegrass imprint Pinecastle Records) was credited simply to Edgar Loudermilk, most of the new band played on the sessions, and the album was well-received in the bluegrass music press. In 2018, Loudermilk and the band issued a single on Pinecastle, "It's a Way of Life That Stands the Test of Time," but they soon jumped to the Rural Rhythm label for the 2019 album Lonesome Riverboat Blues. ~ Mark Deming