Meet the Fine Tuned Musicians
The Blue Ridge Music Trails’ Fine Tuned project is a mentorship and collaboration-based project aimed at professional development for emerging artists playing traditional music in Western North Carolina. Sav Sankaran served as mentor to Josh Jones for their Fine Tuned journey. These two musicians bonded over their classical vocal backgrounds and shared love of traditional bluegrass.
Josh Jones grew up in Robbinsville, NC. He is a mandolin and fiddle player as well as a vocalist currently studying at the UNC School for the Arts. Josh describes his music as “leaning towards traditional bluegrass music.” As he develops his craft, Josh is approaching the process with an open ear, exploring how to add modern elements into his music. Josh’s most influential teachers have been Bill Pruett who helped Josh understand the core elements of bluegrass music, and Arvil Freeman, who shared with Josh traditional fiddle stylings of Western North Carolina. Adam Steffey, Mountain Heart, and The Smoky Mountains Boys have been Josh’s biggest musical influences because of the ways each brings original touches to traditional bluegrass music. Josh’s favorite aspects of working with mentor Sav Sankaran are the ways that Sav has shared his knowledge of professional recording, arrangement, and career planning.
Sav Sankaran grew up in the Alleghany Mountains of Central Pennsylvania and has lived in the Asheville area for the last 15 years. Sav is a bassist and vocalist performing with the nationally touring bluegrass band, Unspoken Tradition. One of Sav’s greatest career mentors has been Jon Weisberger. His biggest musical influences are bands like Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass, The Seldom Scene, and Mac Martin and the Dixie Travelers. “As a first-generation Appalachian from an immigrant family, playing traditional music is a way for me to claim ownership over my own identity. It was, in a way, a shibboleth- a way to identify myself as being ‘of Appalachia,’” says Sav. His favorite thing about working with his mentee Josh Jones has been Josh’s positive attitude and hunger to learn.
