Phil Leadbetter

I am so sorry to be so late posting this. My best friend of 45 years, Steve Gulley passed away on August 18, 2020 at 9:08 PM here in Knoxville at The University Of Tennessee due to Pancreatic Cancer.. He was my best friend. I first met Steve in 1974 at a concert in Maryville, TN. He was in a group backing up legendary Dobro Player Josh Graves. Josh had invited me up on stage to pick a song. That was when I first met Steve. We had been friends, and best friends for 45 years. Later in life, he and I..along with mandolin master Alan Bibey formed the group Grasstowne. After 2 albums there, I departed to join The Whites. Steve left after 3 albums to join The Dale Ann Bradley Band. I joined The Dale Ann Bradley Band a couple years later. We both spent a couple of years there, until he departed to form his own band, Steve Gulley And New Pinnacle. I departed about a year later, and left to for my own band called Phil Leadbetter And The All-Stars Of Bluegrass. Steve also became a member of that group as a "side gig" along with Alan Bibey, Jason Burleson and Claire Lynch. After Claire's departure as she relocated to canada, we hired in Robert Hale (who had been a founding member along with me of the group Wildfire) came in to play. These were all side-jobs by all these guys in addition to their bands (Alan Bibey And Grasstowne, Steve Gulley And New Pinnacle, Robert Hale Abd Wildfire, and Jason Burleson with Blue Highway). Steve's passing has been a huge shock to all of us, and we are still searching for words to say. Please keep The Gulley Family in your prayers.  

The new Phil Leadbetter And The Allstars Of Bluegrass is finished and should be available for purchase soon. In the mean time, you can get some advance tracks right here at the link below.

New Phil Leadbetter And The Allstars Of Bluegrass Tracks

I bought an RQ Jones from Jerry Douglas back in 1982. I just got it back 38 years later. I sold it to a guy in 1986, and then that guy sold it to Jerry Douglas a few years later. That guitar has been to some cool places. It was the "imposter" for Jerry's guitar at The Country Music Hall Of Fame in Nashville, TN when Jerry decided he wanted to take him out of the HOF and play it, and he would replace it with my guitar. They were almost exact except mine had a bound fingerboard. No one ever seemed to catch it! So glad to finally get it back and bring it home

Phil Leadbetter And The All-Stars Of Bluegrass "Swing For The fences" CD is almost done. Mixing and mastering is done, and waiting for a release date. I will let you know that date soon.

A very nice article in Bluegrass Today. Read below:

Phil Leadbetter And The All-Stars Of Bluegrass Track Premiere.

I want to thank all voting members who voted me the 2020 SPBGMA "Dobro Player Of The Year". It is a true honor !!!!

We have been working this past week on the new Allstars Of Bluegrass CD at Eastwood Studios in Galax, VA. Very proud of the songs we have laid down this week. We also did out CD and promo photo shoot. Will share some of these photos with you as soon as they are released. Lot's more to come!

Here is a couple more photos from the 2019 IBMA Awards Show from The Duke Energy Center in Raleigh, NC

It was a real honor to play at halftime during the Tennessee / Mississippi State Football game on October 12th at Neyland Stadium with my dear friends Steve Gulley, Gary "Biscuit" Davis, Matt Flake, Bryan Turner and Gary Robinson. Very surreal to be standing on that field in front of the largest crowd I have ever performed in front of. Hope to do it again...the crowd loved it! What a HUGE bucket list item  checked off !!!!!

Certainly a bucket list item for me. I had seen and heard this iconic guitar on many records/CDs  during my life. The first time when I was only 11 years old. I finally got to play it for the first time during the IBMA. Bucket list item !