Mark Cosgrove

Unlikely as it may seem, flatpicking guitarist Mark Cosgrove was the son of a Tony-winning Broadway costume designer (Mary Percy Schenck) and grew up in Manhattan listening to classical music. He turned to bluegrass at an early age, however (following a flirtation with the drums), and quickly became proficient. He won both the U.S. National Flatpicking Guitar Championship in Winfield, KS, and the Doc Watson Guitar Championship in Wilkesboro, NC. He made his first recordings as a member of the Philadelphia-based bluegrass group the Lewis Brothers. He has worked extensively as a session musician, notably for Jerry Douglas. In 1994, he released his first album, Good Medicine. It was followed by Round Island and, in 2005, by Sweet Reason, his debut on Flatpicking Guitar magazine's label, FGM Records. ~ William Ruhlmann