Higher Ground Bluegrass

Higher Ground Bluegrass (HGB) has established itself as a premier Bluegrass band in New Mexico. Founded by "Duke" Weddington (Banjo, Guitar, Vocals) in 1998, HGB is now celebrating their 26th year as a musical ensemble. Band members include Dave Devlin (Mandolin, Resonator Guitar), Pat Mahoney (Fiddle, Vocals), Laura Leach-Devlin (Bass, Vocals), and newest band member Ben Monroe (Guitar, vocals). Performing original material penned by members of the group, the band also plays a variety of traditional and contemporary selections influenced by the American traditions of folk, bluegrass, Celtic, country, and rock 'n roll. Their philosophy remains one of developing dynamic arrangements of their original material, as well as lesser known songs, and adding something new and unique to standard bluegrass tunes to make them their own. With four members providing vocal contributions, the swapping of lead and harmonies offers something new and appealing for each song in their repertoire. HGB has recorded nine independent albums: Black and White – Faded and Torn (2001); People, Places, Memories (2003); Miles and Miles (2008); Bluegrass Classics (2013); HGB V (2016); CLANN (2017), HGB20 (2018 – 20th Anniversary Album). HGB20 was nominated in SIX 2019 New Mexico Music Award Categories and received the NMMA awards for Best Bluegrass ("Tinderbox" written by Laura Leach Devlin) and Best Instrumental ("Passing Lane" written by Pat Mahoney). Their eighth album, Auburn Sky, Duke's second instrumental album, was released on December 27, 2019. The album was nominated in 5 New Mexico Music Award Categories. The band released their ninth album, Blue and Gray, in June of 2023, which contains 11 new original songs. The album was nominated for 4 New Mexico Music Awards in 3 categories of Best Bluegrass Song, Best Gospel Song and Producer of the Year Award, and received the NMMA for Bluegrass, bringing their total to 6 New Mexico Music Awards (2004, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2024) for their original music. HGB has opened for Peter Rowan, Tim O'Brien, Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen, Jim Lauderdale, The Infamous Stringdusters, and the band has served as the Host Band for the Southwest Pickers Annual Bluegrass and Traditional Music Festival. HGB delivers a superb blend, and interpretation of Bluegrass music, extending boundaries.

Ken "Duke" Weddington began picking the five-string banjo in 1973 while growing up in Burlington, NC. His parents purchased a non-descript used banjo for $85 from a local music store, and Duke spent the early years with the Earl Scruggs Instruction book practicing classic Bluegrass tunes, and also learning songs and licks from LPs. Earl was obviously a major influence in Duke's picking along with Doug Dillard and Sonny Osborne, and in later years; Bela Fleck and Alan Munde. Following graduation from NC State in 1981, Duke entered military service, becoming a Naval Aviator on June 10, 1983. He served as an Attack and Strike-Fighter pilot in both the US Marine Corps and US Navy and concluded his flying days in the F/A-18 Hornet, returning to civilian life after 14 years of active duty service. Relocating to Albuquerque, NM in 1995, Duke rekindled his love of Bluegrass and was a founding member of the band Higher Ground Bluegrass (HGB) in 1998. His banjo style includes a blend of traditional Scruggs style, melodic and progressive forms, which has established him as an exceptional picker in the Land of Enchantment. Duke is a prolific songwriter, developing original vocals and instrumentals for each of the band's nine albums as well as for his first solo album project, CLANN (released in 2017). Duke has received several New Mexico Music Awards over the past 18 years. His progressive instrumental "Alamance" from the band's second album 'People, Places, Memories' won the New Mexico Music Award (NMMA) for Best Instrumental Performance in 2004. His co-writing with bandmate Pat Mahoney on "Water for Gold" for their album HGB V was recognized with the NMMA for Best Bluegrass song in 2017. And in 2018, Duke received the NMMA for Best Arrangement for "Maddie's Dream/Erin's Jig," a Celtic instrumental from his album "CLANN," an inspiring musical anthology. His second solo anthology, "Auburn Sky," is comprised of 10 original Bluegrass and Celtic influenced instrumentals. The album was released in December 2019 and was nominated in 5 NMMA categories. He was the primary author of the songs on the band’s 25th Anniversary album ‘Blue & Gray’ released in 2023. His original song "Back to You" received the 2024 New Mexico Music Award for Best Bluegrass. The song was co-written with HGB Alumni Diane Parshall back in 2008. Duke sings lead and harmony vocals, and also plays the guitar and the mandolin.

Dave Devlin is a talented, multi-instrumentalist who has been with HGB almost from inception, joining the band in the fall of 1999. Dave began his musical endeavors in the mid 1970's in Long Island, NY. In his high school days, Dave developed an interest in bluegrass music after hearing a Flatt and Scruggs album. Up to that point he had been primarily interested in the electric guitar and rock-n-roll, however, he abandoned that to pursue learning the five string banjo (Dave relayed he had heard, inaccurately, that girls dig banjo players). Never-the-less, he pursued the instrument for several years, later taking up the mandolin and resonator guitar, and eventually leaving the banjo in the closet (a positive turning point in his life according to Dave). His primary contributions to HGB are on the mandolin, on the resonator guitar, and occasional scientific consulting. After a long and distinguished career (25 years) as a Scientist working at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, in New Mexico, Dave ventured into retirement to continue his lifelong musical interests with an emphasis on pedal steel guitar. Dave has written multiple instrumental songs for HGB to include Tatnuck Hill, Pass the Salt, Coffee Talk, and Backburn, on the band's first three albums, and most recently he wrote the instrumental Route 127B on 'HGB20,' the HGB's 20th anniversary album. Dave has performed on all 9 HGB albums and has co-written with Duke and also with Pat on several vocals to include My Heart is Here to Stay from the 'People, Places, Memories" album, Sweet Annie Mae on 'HGB V,' and No. 9 Coal on the ‘Blue & Gray' album. In addition to playing with HGB, Dave plays with multiple bands in the region including The Bill Hearne Trio, The Cathy Faber Band, Lani Nash, Dave Payne, and many other folks who also happen to be named Dave. He has recorded tracks with many regional acts as well as noted recording artists such as Chris Hillman, Garth Hudson and John Popper. Dave also plays guitar (acoustic and electric), bass and some banjo from time to time.

Pat Mahoney was born and raised in Carmel, CA. His musical abilities are based in family roots with his mom playing the piano and his Dad playing both the trombone and the organ. He and his five siblings all played musical instruments. The home ensemble included the clarinet, guitar, drums, saxophone, and the violin. Pat was naturally drawn to the sound of the violin. At age seven his parents put Pat into private violin lessons, where he played classical violin until the end of his sophomore year of high school. In his senior year of high school, an older brother let him listen to an album from a popular band called "The Eagles." The album was "Desperado." A couple of the tracks on the album contained the five string banjo. The sound of the instrument intrigued Pat, he wanted more, which led to his discovery of "Bluegrass." Pat set the violin down and found an inexpensive Crest banjo, spending the next couple of years developing his picking skills until he felt ready to join a band. Pat answered an ad in the local newspaper for a "fiddle player or fairly competent violinist," thinking he would go to the audition and just might be able to take the band's banjo player spot. The band was more interested in what Pat could play as a beginning Bluegrass fiddler, and he was invited to join the band. Pat credits the biggest advancement and development in his fiddling skills came when he took lessons from 3-time California State fiddle champion, Virgil Evans from Santa Cruz, CA. In 2010, Pat moved to Los Alamos, New Mexico to work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in environmental remediation. That's where he met coworker and HGB guitarist Fred Bolton. Fred invited Pat to an HGB practice to introduce him to the band and see if there might a fit, as the band had been without a fiddler since 2003. Pat's fiddling skills certainly caught everyone's attention and he fit into the band perfectly. He has spent the last thirteen years playing, writing, recording, touring, and having fun with HGB, a group that truly has become a family. His co-writing of "Water For Gold" on the album HGB V was recognized with a New Mexico Music Award for Best Bluegrass in 2017. Pat received his second New Mexico Music Award in 2019, this time in the Best Instrumental category, for "Passing Lane" from the album HGB20. Pat and Duke co-wrote the song 'Your Echo Remains' on the upcoming 'Blue & Gray' album. He considers himself fortunate to have had the privilege of playing with master musicians Byron Berline, David Grier, Matt Flinner and Wyatt Rice. He also played a John Steinbeck musical show with Warner Brothers recording artist Larry Hosford, and has opened for Newgrass Revival, Tony Rice band with Alison Krauss, Lou Reid, Peter Rowan, Tim O'Brien, Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen as well as Jim Lauderdale. Pat has a natural gift for gab, performing emcee responsibilities for the band. He sings lead and harmony vocals.

Laura Leach-Devlin is a native New Mexican, born and raised in the Albuquerque area. She was a child of the groovy 1960's, the twelfth daughter of a rambling house painter man as she describes him. At a very young age, Laura recalls her father telling her that if she learned to play a musical instrument, she would never ever be bored. She now relays that he forgot to tell her to pick a small instrument, something that would be easy to transport! Throughout her developmental years, she dabbled in violin and acoustic guitar, never quite finding the one instrument that "struck a chord" with her interest. However, in later years after meeting her future husband, Dave Devlin, she was introduced to the big wide world of Bluegrass music. She began learning the mandolin under Dave's tutelage, but he suggested she might be best suited to playing the foundational instrument in all forms of music. So, Laura took Dave's advice (the only time we are aware of right now or that she will admit) and she settled on the biggest of all instruments, the DogHouse Bass. She dove hands-first into learning the bass, stand-up as well as electric and began playing at jam sessions and with local musicians. In late 2010, Laura joined Higher Ground Bluegrass (HGB), and has been holding down the low end with both hands ever since. She played the bass on the last six HGB albums: Bluegrass Classics, HGB V, CLANN, HGB20, Auburn Sky and Blue & Gray. Laura showed her vocal chops with a genuine delivery of the Shawn Mullins tune Catoosa County on HGB V, and again showed her vocal prowess as well as her songwriting abilities on her original song "Tinderbox" written for HGB20, which received the 2019 New Mexico Music Award for "Best Bluegrass" song. The song was written in tribute to the Granite Mountain Hotshots who lost their lives on June 30, 2013 in the Yarnel fire. She also sings harmony vocals and serves as the band's social media manager, keeping Facebook and Twitter up to date with the band's activities. Laura is rock solid on the bass, has become a fine vocalist and her smile on stage is simply contagious.

Ben Monroe was born in Lewisville, TX just north of the Dallas/Fort Worth area. His family relocated to Austin, TX, the ‘Live Music Capital of the World,’ where Ben was first influenced and attracted to music by watching and listening to his father play the 5-string banjo. Ben's uncle who plays jazz, flamenco, country, and a “little bit of everything on guitar” was highly influential and encouraged him to learn to play. As a young fellow, his family made the annual trek to the Telluride Bluegrass festival many times where Ben picked up the guitar and started playing country and Bluegrass music, ultimately falling in love with the Bluegrass genre. He found playing guitar on standard fiddle tunes and traditional Bluegrass songs with his dad as a shared love and considers that as foundational to his musical roots. Ben cites Tony Rice as the penultimate influence on his guitar playing with an honorable mention to Trey Hensley. He jokes that the YouTube video of Tony Rice playing ‘Church Street Blues’ has a least a “million views” by him alone. Last time we checked, that video had 2.3M views and growing. As a budding songwriter, he has been working on three independently recorded songs, which are due for release in the near future. Ben met HGB members Dave and Laura by chance when they were playing an impromptu live jam on the street in Albuquerque one evening. He was driving by, saw them performing, stopped to introduce himself, and ended up playing a few songs with them. Ben was invited to meet the band, and after a few subsequent “wood-shedding” sessions, he joined Higher Ground Bluegrass in 2023 for their 25th anniversary year. He made his intro on HGB's ninth album 'Blue & Gray' providing a backup vocal for the Gospel tune "Cast Your Nets." Ben plays rhythm and lead guitar, resonator guitar, pedal steel and considers George Jones, George Strait, and Randy Travis as the major influences in his approach to singing both lead and harmony vocals. HGB is thrilled to have Ben as a member!