Scott Freeman grew up in a musical family in Mount Airy, and today he makes his living performing, recording, writing, arranging, and teaching music from his home in Woodlawn, Virginia, and all around the region.
“There were always instruments around the house,” he remembers. His three brothers all played music, so he seemed destined to play. “They always needed a mandolin player,” says Scott, who plays multiple instruments, but still favors the mandolin. The brothers performed bluegrass and gospel music together with other community members.
In the 1970s he was drawn to the mandolin by hearing David Grisman and other musicians who were experimenting with traditional music and jazz. (“I came into traditional music through the back door,” he says.) He has performed with many groups and musicians from the region. He was a founding member of Skeeter and the Skidmarks, who played at bluegrass festivals across the country. Later, he played for six or seven years with the progressive bluegrass band Alternate Roots. He also played several shows with Glen Lawson, the McPeak Brothers, and Amantha Mill of Boone, North Carolina.
Scott has also spent a great deal of time teaching. He currently has about seventy private students and an active waiting list. He works with the famous banjo instructor and musician Pete Wernick at workshops held at MerleFest. Scott spent more than three years teaching for the Junior Appalachian Musicians program in Sparta, and today he teaches for a program taught at the Blue Ridge Music Center in Virginia.
Scott has participated on many recordings, and has recorded solo projects. He currently plays with various groups, particularly with national banjo champion Steve Lewis and Josh Scott in a group called the Trespassers.
Availability
Scott Freeman is available for performances, lessons in guitar, fiddle, and mandolin, workshops, and fiddle set-up.
