Daniel Thrailkill
is an amazingly gifted vocalist and progressive guitarist from Newton, North Carolina. With thirteen years of guitar playing under his belt, he is one of the up-and-coming pickers to keep an eye on. He is the reigning South Carolina State Flatpicking Champion, and in 2018 he won the IBMA Momentum Award for Vocalist of the Year. His band The Trailblazers was named Momentum Band of the Year at IBMA that same year, as well as the SPBGMA Band Champions. In 2017 they won the Merlefest Band Championship. Daniel has also shared the stage with the likes of Circus No. 9, Darin and Brooke Aldridge, Chosen Road, and John Cowan. Daniel and Carley were married in the summer of 2021, and they perform as a duo (as well as in Carley’s band) for many events around the region. Accolades aside, he is one of the most genuine guys you’ll ever meet.
Photo Credits: Laci Mack Photography
Autumn Watson
is Carley’s younger sister; a lovely and talented mandolin player as well as an award-winning singer and gifted songwriter. She makes her home in Mooresboro, North Carolina with her husband Paul (who plays bass with Carley as well!) and has been playing mandolin since age eight. Shortly after she began, she and Carley formed their first bluegrass band with three other friends in 2006, and became the first all-female band to win in the long history of the Fiddler’s Grove Old Time Fiddler’s Convention in Union Grove, NC. Together Autumn and Carley performed in three award-winning bands throughout their school years and were members of the IBMA’s prestigious Kids on Bluegrass program for three years. Music aside, Autumn is also the creator of Ollie June Hat Co. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram @olliejunehatco for more information, or you can see her creations in person at her merch table at live shows.
Photo Credits: Laci Mack Photography
Paul Watson
hails originally from Green Creek, North Carolina, and is an incredibly talented and award-winning bassist. He exudes passion for his craft and holds the band together as a force to be reckoned with, and his stage presence is iconic! Paul has played bass for fourteen years and performed with Carley and Autumn in two bluegrass bands in high school. He also was a member of the IBMA Kids on Bluegrass program for three years, and upon graduating high school he moved to Newport, Tennessee where he had a job with the band Monroeville waiting on him. Paul had a fruitful five-year career with them, traveling and performing all across the US at various festivals and venues. Shortly after he and Autumn started dating, he moved back home to NC. They were married in the fall of 2021, and they and Carley have found themselves performing together once again.
Photo Credits: Brian Savage
Sawyer Whitman
from Hudson, North Carolina, is a banjo powerhouse. He has been playing for eighteen years, and is skilled in both the traditional Scruggs style as well as a softer, melodic voice that pairs well with a lead vocalist. He has won many awards for his banjo playing and has performed with several groups throughout his career. As a teen he traveled with Sweet Briar Jam, a young band from Lenoir, NC who in themselves were a great talent. Now, along with sharing the stage with Carley, he performs regularly with other local groups including The Neighbors, Zeb Spencer, and Chad Triplett & Two Lane Blacktop. Sawyer plays in his church as well, and when he isn’t on the road he is working as a Chimney Sweep with his dad in Lenoir.
Photo Credits: Laci Mack Photography