That’s high praise for this self-taught fiddler, banjoist, guitarist, and singer. A player of uncommon subtlety and individuality, Kenny is known for rendering American old-time tunes and songs with true spirit and vitality, and also for the new pieces that he contributes to the larger tapestry of traditional music.Since the mid-1980s, Kenny has been a part of several outstanding string bands including Leftwich, Higginbotham, and Jackson; The Rhythm Rats (with Paula Bradley and Whitt Mead), and Big Medicine (with Joe Newberry, Jim Collier, LaNelle Davis, and Bobb Head). Lately he has been making music with Erynn Marshall, Carl Jones, and Bobb Head in a new band known as the Bow Benders.

Kenny has appeared at numerous festivals including MerleFest, the Ulster-American Folk Park in Northern Ireland, the Winnipeg Folk Festival, the Wheatland Music Festival, and the Appalachian String Band Music Festival. He’s also appeared on broadcasts such as A Prairie Home Companion, ABC-TV’s Good Morning America, BBC-Belfast Radio, theRenfro Valley Barn Dance, WPAQ’s Merry-Go-Round, and the WWVA Jamboree. Add that to the many concerts, dances, and other venues where he’s played, and you get a picture of a seasoned performer.

Over the years Kenny has been a mentor to emerging old-time musicians around the country, teaching private lessons in person and online, and at workshops and music camps around the US.

Kenny can be heard on a number of recordings, including his 2004 solo CD Over the Mountain; on the Big Medicine recordings Pine to Pine, Fever in the South and Too Old to be Controlled; and I Believe I’ll Go Back Home and Pretty Crowing Chicken, with the Rhythm Rats.