Dan Tyminski just may be the closest thing bluegrass music has to a Renaissance man. A mandolin player, a guitarist, a recording engineer and producer and a vocalist who can switch from delicate harmonies to fiery, hard-edged leads at the drop of a hat, he's spent the decade in two of the music's most prominent ensembles ­ the Lonesome River Band and Alison Krauss's Union Station. Now, the talented young musician is stepping out front in all of those roles with one of the most eagerly-awaited solo albums in many years.

Born in Rutland, Vermont in 1967, Dan's remarkable accomplishments have been achieved while working in just three bands. Introduced to bluegrass and vintage country music by his parents, he began playing his older brother Stan's mandolin before joining the latter's Green Mountain Bluegrass as a banjo player while still in his mid-teens. With a busy schedule of appearances in Northeast and along the East Coast, Green Mountain Bluegrass quickly became a full-time career (and musical school) for Tyminski.

In 1988, Dan was recruited for the Lonesome River Band by guitarist Tim Austin; though he was hired as a banjo player, Dan soon switched over to mandolin, making his recording debut on the LRB's Rebel release, Looking For Yourself. The band's next release, 1991's Carrying The Tradition, featuring Tyminski, Austin and new members Sammy Shelor and Ronnie Bowman, was one of the most influential albums of the decade, winning the International Bluegrass Music Association's Album Of The Year, spending six months atop Bluegrass Unlimited's album airplay chart and propelling the band ­ and Dan ­ into the top ranks of bluegrass. Old Country Town, the band's successful 1994 follow-up, solidified Tyminski's reputation as a tasteful, creative instrumentalist and a brilliant vocalist whose distinctive voice brings the soulful edge of traditional bluegrass into a contemporary setting.

Having spent a brief stint with Alison Krauss & Union Station in 1992-3, Dan joined the award-winning ensemble for good in 1994, playing guitar and occasionally mandolin, and shaping his impeccable harmonies to the band's broad range of material while contributing hard-edged lead vocals on featured traditional bluegrass numbers. With Union Station, he appeared on the award-winning hit single, "When You Say Nothing At All," and has shared in four Grammy awards, one Country Music Association awards, two Nashville Music Awards and a host of others, including the IBMA?s Entertainer Of The Year, while making frequent appearances on prime time and late night television and maintaining a busy schedule touring the nation?s most prestigious venues.

At the same time, Tyminski began to develop his skills in the recording studio, resulting in an impressive string of engineering and producing credits on albums ranging from Bowman's Cold Virginia Night and The Man I'm Tryin' To Be to the Grammy-nominated multi-artist The Stanley Tradition and its successor, the IBMA's 1998 Gospel Recorded Performance Of The Year, The Stanley Gospel Tradition, to albums made for Austin's Doobie Shea Records by Unlimited Tradition, Jeanette Williams, Scottie Sparks and Mountain Heart ­ and, of course, his forthcoming solo album. In addition, he has appeared as a vocalist on albums by artists such as Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, Clint Black, Michael Johnson, Randy Travis, and many more.

In short, Dan is a performer at the very top of his profession, thanks to abundant talent, steady creativity and a personality that's as outgoing and friendly off stage as on. Already held in high esteem by his peers in both country and bluegrass music, his debut solo album for Doobie Shea Records will give new listeners the opportunity to hear for themselves the extraordinary range of musical interests and abilities of bluegrass's Renaissance man, Dan Tyminski.