Article Contributed by Mountain Home Music Company
Published on 2026-09-04
In news timed to coincide with the kickoff of the award-winning Earl Scruggs Music Festival, Mountain Home Music Company announced today that it has signed acclaimed musician James Kee to a recording contract.
Kee’s first release for the label will be a special collaborative project featuring the legendary guitar that banjo master Earl Scruggs played with Flatt & Scruggs for most of the acclaimed duo’s career.
“A couple of years ago,” Kee recalls, “I was privileged to be in the right place and time to acquire Earl Scruggs’ guitar, a 1955 Martin D-18 that he was known for using almost exclusively with Flatt & Scruggs from 1957 to the end of their career in 1969.
“Though primarily a banjo player, Earl was an accomplished fingerstyle guitarist with a unique sound, and I wanted to record an album that is a tribute to that side of his musicianship. Since I play multiple instruments and sing several parts, I decided a collaborative album featuring multiple guests playing Earl’s guitar would be a great way to share the guitar and this music that has meant so much to all of us bluegrass lovers.”
Recording is already well underway for the project, with the first single expected in January 2027.
“I’ve known James as a thoughtful, talented musician for nearly 20 years,” says Mountain Home’s Jon Weisberger. “He’s a great player—on multiple instruments—and singer, and looking at the progress of East Nash Grass, the band that he founded, from its informal roots to the successful enterprise that it is today, it’s clear that he’s equipped not only with a distinctive vision, but with the skills needed to turn that vision into compelling musical projects.
“We are excited to welcome this very special project and the artist behind it into the Mountain Home family.”
“Recording a solo project has long been a goal of mine, and I’m so pleased to have signed with the great team at Mountain Home Music,” Kee notes. “Since it’s the first project of my own, we have a lot of ground to cover, and I look forward to seeing the record to fruition, to share with all the folks who have followed my career with East Nash Grass and the other bluegrass acts I’ve worked with.”
ABOUT JAMES KEE
Originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, James Kee’s involvement with music began early in life. Inspired to play bluegrass by his banjo-playing grandfather, he began playing multiple instruments and immersing himself in the local bluegrass community before reaching his teens.
Following stints with NewTown and the Hamilton County Ramblers, Kee moved to Nashville in 2016. Soon after, he helped establish a weekly residency at Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge with East Nash Grass. The informal gathering eventually developed into a nationally touring group with three full-length releases, Grand Ole Opry performances and numerous awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association and the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America.
For several years, Kee also hosted a weekly jam at Nashville’s American Legion Post 82 and spent considerable time fostering the city’s bluegrass community.
After nearly a decade with East Nash Grass, Kee has embarked on a different kind of project. In 2024, circumstances of good timing and opportunity led him to acquire Earl Scruggs’ 1955 Martin D-18, which Scruggs used on foundational recordings from 1957 through the end of Flatt & Scruggs’ career.
Though known primarily as a banjo player, Scruggs was also an accomplished fingerstyle guitarist. His performances regularly featured the guitar, often accompanied by the group’s quartet harmonies.
After an extensive restoration made the instrument playable again, Kee began work on a project that will allow this unique piece of bluegrass history to speak once more. The album will feature performances by Kee and an all-star collection of colleagues, recording Scruggs’ guitar with modern technology and resources for the first time.
