Dan Tyminski

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Dynamic on stage, down to earth off stage, Dan Tyminski has the voice, instrumental chops, and charisma to be counted among the most recognizable and popular male vocalists on today’s bluegrass and country music scenes. Yet his demeanor – low-key and laconically sly – ensures that all the accolades are the product of his own innate gifts.

Since 1994, his ace instrumental skill (mainly on guitar, but also on mandolin) and burnished, soulful tenor singing has been a key component of Alison Krauss and Union Station, arguably the most visible and successful bluegrass band in the modern era.

Growing up in the unlikely bluegrass state of Vermont, Tyminski very quickly saw there was little difference between the rolling hills of New England and those of East Tennessee, as his parents raised him to a soundtrack of bluegrass and old-time country music. His family took advantage of the fertile festival scene in the northeast, and his mother was unafraid to pick up a guitar and sing a few bars from time to time. She was his first inspiration, proving that music was both within his grasp and something that could set him apart. When barely 21 years old, he was plucked from the ranks of regional bluegrass bands to join the Lonesome River Band, appearing on their 1989 release Looking for Yourself. He carried on (with one brief respite from 1992 through 1993) with 1994’s Old Country Town, during which time the Lonesome River Band emerged as one of the most influential acts in modern bluegrass – crafting a sleek sound that still had deeply-felt echoes of bluegrass’ rural roots.

Although he was briefly a member of Alison Krauss and Union Station during his break from Lonesome River Band in 1992-1993, Tyminski signed on full-time in 1994 as guitarist, lead and harmony vocalist, and occasional mandolinist. His hard-driving vocals showcase the band’s commitment to classic bluegrass, even as their sound has evolved into a richly hued hybrid that draws from a myriad of styles and sounds. When singing together, the silken voice of Krauss and more roughly-hewed quality of Tyminski’s voice make an unlikely and utterly riveting combination.

As a member of Union Station, Tyminski has participated in a string of acclaimed and commercially successful albums, including So Long So Wrong (1997), New Favorite (2001), Live (2001), and Lonely Runs Both Ways (2004). He also appears on the Krauss solo album Forget About It (1999) and on her multi-platinum 1995 compilation Now That I’ve Found You: A Collection, as well as 2007’s A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection. The band has been showered in Grammy, Country Music Association (CMA), and International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) awards, among others, and Tyminski has been named Male Vocalist of the Year by the IBMA three times and was recognized as 2004’s Male Vocalist of the Year by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA).

In 2000, Tyminski stepped further into the popular conscience as the singing voice of George Clooney in the Coen Brothers’ Odyssean farce O Brother, Where Art Thou? In addition to being a pivotal element in the plot of the film, his powerful rendition of the Stanley Brothers’ version of “Man of Constant Sorrow” became a surprise hit single – firing off a popular renaissance in bluegrass in the process. The song was given the CMA Single of the Year award, an IBMA award for Song of the Year (the album was also named the Album of the Year), and a Grammy award for Country Collaboration with Vocals. The album received the Grammy for Album of the Year – a rare achievement for a soundtrack project.

That year also marked the release of Tyminski’s first solo album, the confident and soul-stirring Carry Me Across the Mountain, and some of the first dates performed by the Dan Tyminski Band. His next solo project wouldn't surface until 2008 -- Grammy-nominated Wheels. He has also toured as part of Vince Gill’s band and with Jerry Douglas. He was invited by Eric Clapton to participate in Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2004 and as a part of Union Station in 2007. Tyminski has been featured in Rolling Stone, Country Weekly, CNN.com, and by the Associated Press, and has performed on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, the Grammy Awards, Good Morning America, the CMA Awards, the ACM Awards, and Sesame Street. He is also a highly regarded session musician and vocalist, having contributed to projects for Leann Rimes, Brad Paisley, Joan Osborne, Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton, and Alan Jackson.

Now living in the Nashville area, Tyminski is an avid golfer and has participated in a number of celebrity golf tournaments.