Scott Anderson

Scott Anderson

Scott Anderson is a native of Palatka, Florida, and works as a self-taught multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. He also works as a pharmacist and is an amateur photographer and surfer. His music draws on bluegrass, gospel, and related acoustic styles, and he is associated with the Southeastern bluegrass and gospel circuit.

Early musical background

Anderson grows up listening to a mixture of popular music from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, bluegrass and mountain music from artists such as Bill Monroe, the Stanley Brothers, and Flatt and Scruggs, and hymns sung at church. He begins learning guitar at 12 and banjo at 13, and attends his first bluegrass festival as a young teenager in Lawtey, Florida. He plays informally with friends and continues to attend festivals before starting his professional career.

Career

He begins performing professionally at 19 with First Light, a contemporary and Southern gospel group from Palatka, playing banjo and guitar and doing his first session work. While attending the University of Florida in 1989, he joins Tom Henderson’s Bluegrass Parlor Band as a bass player and vocalist, quickly learning the bass for the group’s southeastern tour before moving to the banjo position. He appears on the Pinecastle release Two Colors with that band.

In 1993, Anderson co-founds Endless Highway with Gabe Valla, Greg Turner, Mike Hyde, Tuck Tucker, and Tim Higgins. The group performs grungy bluegrass, soft ballads, and jazz-influenced material, tours throughout the Southeast, wins the Pizza Hut Bluegrass Showdown, earns an IBMA showcase spot, and releases a project on Mid-Knight Records in 1996.

He returns to Southern and bluegrass gospel in 1999 with Gentle River, performing in churches across North Florida and singing lead, tenor, and baritone parts. In 2004, he joins The Jim Hurst Band on banjo and harmony vocals, touring widely across the United States and in Ireland. He also continues to perform with The Scott Anderson Band.

Solo work and The Scott Anderson Band

In March 2001, Anderson records his first solo project, Rivers, with co-production help from Scott Vestal. The album includes his own material alongside contributions from Wayne Benson, John Cowan, Shelton Feazell, Aubrey Haynie, Jim Hurst, Rob Ickes, Missy Raines, Gabe Valla, Scott Vestal, and Darren Wainright. After completing it, he forms The Scott Anderson Band to perform the songs live. The band combines the different styles he has played across his career into an acoustic sound with strong bluegrass influence.

Collaborations and appearances

Anderson performs or records with Vassar Clements, Larry Rice, Byron Berline, Chubby Wise, Allen Shadd, Bill Grant and Delia Bell, Blue Angel, Chief Jim Billie, The Sno Rogers Band, and the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also featured in Banjo Newsletter. His work includes co-writing, coordination, and arranging for The Runaways.