Eamon Russell
Eamon Russell has been making music since he was in kindergarten and began playing the fiddle to emulate his brother.
“I stopped playing after a few years. I began playing piano and was very serious about playing the organ at Emory & Henry University before attending Pick Along Camp at The Birthplace of Country Music Museum. That was my first real exposure to traditional mountain music (The Carter Family, The Dillards, The Stanley Brothers). I got a mandolin for my birthday and I truly loved it.
“Once I attended Pick Along Camp, I was hooked. I couldn’t learn enough about the history of our region as it relates to music,” Eamon says.
He spent this summer competing in fiddler conventions in Virginia and North Carolina. He won first place in mandolin (youth) at the Abingdon Fiddlers’ Convention; Alleghany, North Carolina, Fiddlers’ Convention; and the Crooked Road Competition. His biggest accomplishment was winning first place in the adult mandolin competition in the Ashe County Fiddler’s Convention. He also won second place in adult mountain dulcimer.
He has shared the stage with Ralph Stanley II and The Kody Norris Show. An original goal was to play at The Carter Fold and he’s also accomplished that.
He plays mandolin and sings harmony with Easton Compton in a bluegrass/traditional duo called The Boys from Bristol. He plays mellophone in the Abingdon High School marching band and French horn in the school’s concert band. He also plays mountain dulcimer, dobro, banjo, guitar, harmonica and ukelele.
Eamon plays the mandolin in Theatre Bristol’s September production of “The Mockingbird Sings.”
“The band remains on stage throughout the entire play. It is a wonderful visual and sound, as we play through transitions of the acting/play.
“We formed The Boys from Bristol in 2024 after meeting at Pick Along Camp. Easton Compton is a great musician, and I’m lucky to get to play with him. We have been fortunate to have some great gigs and have been well-received. Most recently, we played at the Moss Center at Virginia Tech in a show to showcase music from Southwest Virginia. We are reprising that honor at International Bluegrass Music Association in October.
“We’ve played twice at Bristol Rhythm & Root Reunion’s kids’ day, but it was a great honor to be asked to play the main stage of R&R. I think it ties back to the original Bristol Sessions. I’m feeling thankful and excited for the show,” he says.
Eamon plans to attend East Tennessee State University and major in Bluegrass and Geology. He wants to play the music and study the mountains of the Appalachian Region. He is 14 and lives in Abingdon, Virginia, where he is a freshman at Abingdon High School. His parents are Bruce and Shannon Russell.
