SONS OF RALPH
Bluegrass, Cajun, Classic Southern Rock & More! • $10 COVER AT DOOR
The family that plays together stays together!
Bluegrass legend Ralph Lewis started out performing at mountain music concerts in his native Madison County at the age of 6, playing guitar & mandolin on the same circuit as bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe. The Lewis family had deep roots in the mountain music traditions of Western NC — Ralph hosted a radio show with one brother & formed a band with another, beginning what would become a storied career in the early days of the bluegrass tradition.
In 1974, Lewis earned a spot playing guitar in Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys — though he continued his refrigeration business & raised four children, including sons Don and Martin, with his wife Imogene.
As a child, Martin Lewis began playing almost all of the ever-present musical instruments in the Lewis house. Don Lewis first played the mandolin at age 5 before graduating to the fiddle.
The brothers’ first band was “Ralph Lewis Family and Friends”, formed when they “hired” Ralph away from Bill Monroe. Ralph admitted that he left Bill Monroe & international fame as one of the Bluegrass Boys in order to stay home with his family.
In the early 1970s, the brothers performed at coffeehouses, conventions, local events, Shindig On the Green and regional bluegrass music festivals. From 1974-1976, Marty & Don also toured with their father & Bill Monroe during school breaks as the youngest of the Blue Grass Boys. And they joined their dad the last time he took the stage at the Grand Old Opry, performinbg for an audience that included Monroe, Lester Flatt, & Earl Scruggs.
In 2001, the boys formed The Sons of Ralph with their father, and continued playing their eclectic mix of bluegrass, Cajun, country & rock at bars and festivals all over the Southeast together until the elder Lewis’ death in 2017.
Additional “Sons” have filled out the ranks of the band over the years, with George Buckner (banjo) & Lori Fisher (fiddle) rounding out the band in 2024.
Martin “Marty” Lewis is a gifted & prolific songwriter whose music has been recorded by Sons of Ralph, Open Road, Norfolk Southern Lawmen, 40 West, and The Lids. Martin has performed with Chubby Wise and Kenny Baker, Vassar Clements, and Hank Thompson, and has recorded with numerous other groups.
On stage, Martin is relaxed & smiling behind his guitar, ranging from virtuoso renditions of Southern rock classics to singing ballads he’s composed about people & places he knows by heart.
Don Lewis has performed with Rhonda Vincent at the Grand Ole Opry, appeared on “Hee Haw” and recorded with Warren Haynes, Doc Watson, Roy Clark, and Ronnie Milsap. In the 1990s, he toured Europe with the Shady Grove Band and played with the Red Clay Ramblers on Broadway. His talent & musical versatility also caught the attention of British theatrical director Michael Bogdanov, who hired Don and fellow Red Clay Rambler Jack Herrick to compose & perform the score for the BBC Wales film, “A Light on the Hill” (2000).
On stage, Don transitions effortlessly between mandolin & fiddle, pouring heart & soul into the music while taking the audience along on a wild ride. His signature piece, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia ” tells the well-known story with refreshed intensity.
