Billy Ward
Billy Ward grew up in the rich rural tradition of the Missouri Ozarks.
He started playing the fiddle when he was 13, and had his first professional gig when he was 14 and a half..Playing a Catholic Wedding in Kansas City, Missouri with Don and Coolie Thurman.
He was thinking about quitting when he was 15, but he was standing in his Fiddle teacher Wayne Gourd’s studio in Harrison Arkansas, taking a lesson when in walked the most beautiful young girl he had ever seen, with a banjo in her arms and a dip in the pocket of her blue jeans, and he decided he would keep playing.. That girl was Tedi May?
They started their first bluegrass band together way back then, played at the stock yards pit in Green Forest Arkansas as their big gig, and have stayed in touch and been dear friends ever since…
Fiddle Contests
Billy has won numerous fiddle and flat-pick guitar contests over the years including:
- Arkansas State Fiddle Contest ~2007
- Walnut Valley Winfield Fiddle contest ~ 1987
- Masters of Stringed Instruments Roanoke Virginia~ 2003
- Trans-Atlantic Championships~2001
- Oklahoma State Flat-picking Contest~ 1999~2000
Played Fiddle With
Billy has played on stage withMark Oconner, Clint Strong, Ricky Skaggs, Tom Brumley, Box car Willie, Rex Allen Jr. Johnny Rodriguez, Scott Mcquaig, Ferlin Huskey and numerous others that have helped him become one of the best instrumentalists living in the world.
Quote:
Billy quote for musicians~ “ I’ve made hundreds and hundreds of dollars a year as a musician over the years ?”
Billy’s stage name “Skip Towne” to protect the innocent!
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