Bio
Dylan McCarthy grew up with music. Some of his earliest memories include listening to "Breakfast with The Beatles" with his dad on Sunday mornings and making up songs for his grandmother. The passion grabbed him early and never let go.
With over 25 years experience playing and performing, his musical background is deep and diverse. Beginning with classical piano at the age of 7, he has explored a breadth of musical genres and instruments. His high school years were steeped in classic rock and roll, cutting his teeth in Denver dive bars at 14. He hit a turning point at 18 with his decision to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA in 2012 for electric bass, while simultaneously discovering his love for mandolin and bluegrass music. He eventually made the decision to return to Denver and pursue his music career in the bluegrass music scene.
Since then, Dylan has relocated to Lyons and established himself in Colorado as a hard-working professional in the bluegrass and acoustic music scene. Notable achievements include bringing home a Heartland Emmy award for Musical Composition in 2016, taking first place in the 2019 Rockygrass Mandolin Championship and releasing his debut album of original instrumentals in 2020, Lost & Found, with one of the tracks being awarded 2nd place in the Mike Auldridge Instrumental Contest. More recently he was selected for the IBMA Songwriter Showcase in 2023 and was nominated by IBMA for 2024 Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year. These days you can find him playing in the Colorado progressive bluegrass band Jake Leg (also nominated for 2024 IBMA Momentum Band of the Year) where he is the principle songwriter, and frequently collaborating with other musicians on stage and in the studio.
