Jacob Carroll

Jacob Carroll has lived in Spruce Pine, NC all of his life, and he has been interested in bluegrass music for most of his life. After following his passion for the five-string banjo, Jacob released his first bluegrass album with the band True Grass in the fall of 2019.

When Jacob was two years old, his parents would find him standing in front of the television with a toy guitar trying to play along to Earl Scruggs and Friends playing “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.” His love for the banjo continued, and he started taking banjo lessons from Christy Rash when he was 11 years old. When Jacob was 13, his great-great uncle, Terry McKinney, came to school through a program of the Toe River Arts Council giving free guitar lessons, and Jacob started learning some basic guitar playing.

Terry gave Jacob the opportunity to play at several different venues with him. One particular performance was with Little Roy Lewis, which left a lasting impression. Jacob met Mike Pressley when he was 15, and he helped him also along the way.

At the age of 15, Jacob was asked to join his first band – a gospel group called Strings of Faith. During 2015, he and three of his friends started a bluegrass band named Carolina Crossroads which played at several different venues in the area including Bluegrass First Class, The Pickin’ Porch, and the Mountain State Fair.

In early 2017, Jacob and some of his friends started the band Toe River Drifters, and that May, Jacob was chosen to participate in the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Kids on Bluegrass program. This program selects around 25 kids every year to play on stage at the IBMA World of Bluegrass.

In November of 2017, Jacob was asked to join True Grass, a local bluegrass band, and he accepted the opportunity. During 2018, Jacob went to Heartwood Studio with True Grass to start work on his first album. Their first two singles were released in September 2019 and the full album followed soon after.