Justin Carbone
There aren’t many bluegrass musicians born and raised in North Jersey, where you’re more likely to grow up as a disappointed Mets fan than a professional bluegrass guitar player. Justin was ten when he experienced his first festival, The Wind Gap Bluegrass Festival, and met some kids his age actually playing the music. It wasn’t long before he found his passion in the guitar and formed a group called Kickin’ Grass. Kickin’ Grass sort of modulated into the group 2nd Edition, and a hobby slowly progressed into a decent summer job between college semesters. In 2002, 2nd Edition won the SPBGMA band contest and the bookings starting rolling in, making attendance a challenge for some of Justin’s Economics classes. The following year was filled with life decisions as 2nd Edition made their last appearance on IBMA’s showcase stage. Justin graduated from East Stroudsburg University with a B.S. in Economics and a B.A. in Management.
Justin was a little nervous to find himself re-locating to Nashville, TN to join the Chicago based band Special Consensus. Within months, Special C was in the studio recording a CD to be released on Pinecastle Records. Justin never had to sing lead before this studio experience and was pleasantly surprised when a song he wrote and sang was selected as the title track. Everything’s Alright released in March of 2005.
With the help and advice of Greg Cahill, Justin was able to showcase his song writing, singing, and playing on a solo project, which also released on Pinecastle Records in September of 2005