If you’re new to Strings of Green, let us introduce ourselves.

I’m Brandon, and I play banjo, dobro, and guitar. Music has been my life for over 20 years. I’ve been blessed to win the National Bluegrass Banjo Championship twice (2014 and 2024), tour with acts like the Abrams Brothers and the Darrell Webb Band, and teach at East Tennessee State University for over a decade. But my favorite gig is playing music with my sons.

Josiah is 18 and plays guitar and percussion. He’s also our composer – he writes original music that adds something special to our sound. For most of the band’s history, Josiah was on drums, but he recently made the switch to rhythm guitar and picked it up incredibly fast.

Ezekiel is 12 and plays mandolin. Don’t let his age fool you – this kid can play. He’s already won multiple competitions and has a musical maturity that surprises people when they first hear him.

Ezra is 11 and plays upright bass. He made the switch from uke-bass just a few months ago to prepare for SPBGMA, and he’s already competing and placing at major contests.

We also have two more kids at home – Malachi (8) is learning guitar and dobro, and Moriah (6) is working on fiddle. Who knows? Maybe in a few years, Strings of Green will be a six-piece band.

Music is what brings us together as a family. Every practice, every performance, every long drive to a festival – it’s all time we get to spend together doing something we love. We’re grateful for this journey, and we’re excited to share it with you.

Last year was busy for the Green family. We spent a lot of time on the road, competing at some of bluegrass music’s most respected contests. It was exhausting, exciting, and incredibly rewarding.

Ezekiel had an amazing run. He placed second in the Youth Mandolin Contest at the Old Fiddlers’ Convention in Galax, Virginia – a competition with a long history and serious talent. He also won the top mandolin spot at the Vandalia Gathering right here in West Virginia, which was especially meaningful since it’s our home state.

The Southeast Bluegrass Banjo Championships in Manchester, Tennessee, was a family affair. The boys and I won or placed in every category except fiddle. I took home top spots in banjo, guitar, and dobro. Ezekiel won the mandolin contest, and Ezra placed second in the 14-and-under category for bass – pretty impressive considering he’d only recently switched from uke-bass to upright.

I also had the honor of placing third in the International Fingerstyle Guitar Championship, which was a personal highlight for me.

Competitions aren’t everything, of course. We do them because they challenge us to get better and because they’re a chance to meet other musicians and learn from them. But they’re also nerve-wracking and humbling. Every time we compete, we’re reminded that there’s always more to learn and room to grow.

We’re grateful for the success we had in 2025, and we’re looking forward to whatever 2026 brings – whether that’s more competitions or just more opportunities to play the music we love.

People often ask us how Strings of Green got started. The truth is, it began in the simplest way possible – serving our church.
About five years ago, while we were living in East Tennessee, we attended a large church that had a small offshoot congregation. We felt called to help provide music for their services. Every week, we’d learn six or seven songs – mostly old hymns and worship music. We’d practice together as a family and then play at church on Sunday.
At the time, we weren’t thinking about competitions or performances or anything like that. We were just a family trying to serve our church community with the gifts God had given us. But something happened during those weeks of practicing together. We got better, sure, but more than that, we grew closer as a family. Music became our shared language.
As other opportunities came up – playing at country markets, restaurants, and local venues – we started taking them. Our repertoire grew beyond hymns to include traditional bluegrass standards. Before we knew it, we were regulars at several places around East Tennessee.
Looking back now, those early days in that small church were the foundation for everything that came after. We learned discipline, we learned to work together, and we learned that making music as a family is one of the greatest blessings we could ask for.

When we were sitting at the Walnut Valley Festival in Kansas last September, the idea of competing at SPBGMA came up. We talked about it as a family, and honestly, it seemed like a long shot. The SPBGMA International Band Championship has launched the careers of some incredible acts – Brand New Strings, Mountain Faith, Flatt Lonesome, Blue Mafia, and High Fidelity all competed there. But we decided to go for it.
The months between September and January were intense. Josiah had been playing drums for most of the band’s life, but he needed to focus on bluegrass rhythm guitar for the competition. Ezra had been playing uke-bass, but I told him it was time to get out the upright and start building up some calluses. Both boys worked incredibly hard, and I couldn’t be prouder of their dedication.
When we got to Nashville in January, we were nervous but ready. We’d practiced, we’d prepared, and we’d prayed. When they called our name as the winners, we were stunned. The boys didn’t fully understand what we’d accomplished at first – and honestly, a week later, we’re still processing it.
This win means the world to us, not because of what it might lead to, but because of what it represents – our family working together, supporting each other, and making music we love. We’re grateful for this opportunity and excited to see where it takes us.