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Biography
Adam Steffey grew up playing mandolin in the Tri-Cities region of East Tennessee. He was first introduced to bluegrass music by his maternal grandfather, Fred Carter, who would take Adam to the Carter Fold in Hiltons,VA. There he became interested in the music and was especially intrigued by the sound of the mandolin. Dempsey Young, who was with the great band The Lost and Found, was the first player to really spark the desire to get ahold of a mandolin. After taking lessons in Kingsport,TN for a year or so, Adam began playing with various local bands such as The Boys in the Band, Bluegrass Edition, and Dusty Miller. It was during this time that he began to play with such musicians as Tim Stafford, Barry Bales, James Alan Shelton, and others who would go on to play professionally.
Adam's first full time playing position was with The Lonesome River Band in1987. He was a member of this group for a year before helping to form Dusty Miller. While playing with Dusty Miller he became aquainted with a young Alison Krauss, with whom he worked for the next seven and a half years. In 1998 Adam left Alison Krauss and Union Station, and a few months later began playing with the bluegrass/gospel group The Isaacs, where he would make his musical home for the next three years. In mid-2001, bluegrass group Mountain Heart called upon Adam to fill the vacant mandolin position and he was a part of their band for the next six and a half years.
But it was during his years with Alison Krauss and Union Station that Adam became good friends with Dan Tyminski, thus leading to his current slot as mandolin player for the Dan Tyminski Band. Adam is also an in-demand session player and has recorded with numerous artists from various genres. He has received the mandolin player of the year award five times from the International Bluegrass Music Association, and is a Grammy award winner.