Larry Keel

Larry Dwayne Keel (born November 25, 1968) is an American progressive bluegrass musician and singer/songwriter from Southwest Virginia . He was a founding member of Magraw Gap in 1990. He has also performed with his wife, bassist Jenny Keel, in The Larry Keel Experience, The Larry Keel Duo, and with Keller Williams in Keller and The Keels. He has released over a dozen albums.

Early life Larry Keel was born in Manassas, Virginia in 1968. He was taught guitar by his father James Keel, who played banjo. His brother Gary, who played guitar He began playing seriously in 1975. Between 1976 and 1985 he performed bluegrass music in a number of "semi-professional situations", e.g., bluegrass and fiddler conventions, community events, barbecues, etc.

In 1986 was hired by Disney as a contract musician to perform at Tokyo Disneyland moved to Telluride, Colorado to help found the "Cajun-influenced jam band" Leftover Salmon. Although Jenny played piano by ear and sang, had never played a stringed instrument before she met Keel. She got together with Keel, and quickly began learning the bass.

In January 2005, Keel created a new band, Larry Keel & Natural Bridge

Recordings Starting in 1996, when Keller Williams recorded Buzz with Magraw Gap as supporting musicians – and the group released their self-titled CD – Keel has been active recordings. The Larry Keel Experience's 1997 CD Miles & Miles featured 20 special guests. In 1998, Keel worked with Curtis Burch, recent Grammy Award-winner for The Great Dobro Sessions.

Larry Keel Experience released Larry Keel, Curtis Burch & the Experience with Billy Constable in 2002. Keel's 2004 Journey CD, recorded at his home in Natural Bridge, included guest artists David VanDeventer, Danny Knicely, Will Lee, Gary Ruley, John Flower, Robert Mabe, Slinky Cobblestone, and Morgan Morrison. In 2009, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge released an almost entirely original Backwoods, co-produced by Keller Williams and mastered by Bill Wolf. The Wounded Messenger noted, "Perhaps no song better encapsulates the group's sound than the constantly shifting "Crocodile Man", which meanders through steep, jazzy terrain often explored by progressive acoustic acts but perfected here."

Larry and Jenny Keel's second album with Keller Williams, performing as Keller and the Keels, Thief went No. 1 on Billboard Charts and stayed there for several weeks in a row.

Touring

Larry Keel tours actively with one of his many musical act combos, and with other musical acts – making appearances at major festivals across the US. In 2002, Larry Keel Experience played numerous shows with Vassar Clements and Tony Rice, including at Suwannee Springfest and MerleFest. In 2008, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge toured and collaborated with Rice, Yonder Mountain String Band, Fred Tackett, Paul Barerre, Keller Williams, Hot Tuna, and Davisson Brothers Band. In the winter of 2009, Keel joined Adam Aijala of Yonder Mountain String Band on a tour of Washington, Oregon, and Northern California.

Keller and the Keels performed on Jam Cruise 10 in the Caribbean in 2012. Larry Keel and Natural Bridge performed on Steep Canyon Rangers' "Mountain Song at Sea" cruise in the Bahamas in 2013. Larry and Jenny Keel collaborated with Jeff Austin of Yonder Mountain String Band and Danny Barnes on tours throughout the US, including two appearances on the Mumford & Sons "Gentlemen of the Road" tour in Ohio and Oklahoma in 2013.

In 2013, Larry and Jenny Keel appeared as the opening act at The String Cheese Incident's "Hulaween" festival in Live Oak, Florida. In 2014, The Keels appeared at the Lockn' Festival with New Grass Revival founder, Sam Bush. That same year, the Larry Keel Experience played a sold-out show at the "Bluegrass Underground" concert series in a cave in 33 feet below McMinnville, Tennessee. With Keller Williams at All Good Music Festival July 13, 2007. Larry Keel Experience hosted a 2014 New Year's Eve show at the Oskar Blues Brewery in Brevard, North Carolina. Major acts involved in the show included the Jon Stickley Trio, Jeremy Garrett and Travis Book of the Infamous Stringdusters, Steve McMurry of Acoustic Syndicate, and Mike Guggino of Steep Canyon Rangers.

In July 2015, Keller and the Keels toured through the Deep South with Dangermuffin. Keel also performed in collaboration with Darol Anger, Sam Grisman, and Scott Law that year, adding three sets at FloydFest in Virginia.

Discography Magraw Gap (1996) — Magraw Gap Miles and Miles (1997) — Larry Keel Experience The Sound (1998) — Larry Keel Larry Keel (2000) — Larry Keel Larry Keel, Curtis Burch, and The Experience (2002) Journey (2004) — Larry Keel The Keel Brothers, Vol. 1 (2005) — The Keel Brothers Larry Keel & Natural Bridge (2005) — Larry Keel & Natural Bridge Grass (2006) — Keller and The Keels Keel Brothers, Vol. 2 (2006) — The Keel Brothers Backwoods (2009) — Larry Keel & Natural Bridge Thief (2010) — Keller & The Keels Classic (2012) — Larry Keel & Natural Bridge Experienced (2016) — Larry Keel One (2019) — Larry Keel Speed (2019) — Keller and The Keels American Dream (2020) — Larry Keel Larry Keel & Jon Stickley (2025) — Larry Keel & Jon Stickley

Musical style In 2013, NPR noted, "Keel leads a band dedicated to taking fiery, authentic bluegrass around the world."

Honors, awards, distinctions Keel won the flatpicking guitar competition at Telluride Bluegrass Festival in 1993 and 1996. Flatpicking Guitar Magazine released their "Best of 2001" CD including Larry Keel's original instrumental, "Jerry's Farewell". Flatpicking Guitar Magazine released their "Doc Fest" CD in April 2002, a tribute to guitar legend Doc Watson, including a Larry Keel duet with cellist Rushad Eggleston, "Matty Groves". Keel appeared on the cover of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine May/June 2004 issue (with a 5-page feature article). In 2009, Keel debuted in his first acting role in independent film, John Lee: The Man They Could Not Hang, playing a jail warden in late 19th century England. His music was also featured on the soundtrack. In 2011, Will Lee's tune "Sound Check", performed by Larry Keel Experience, was featured on Confluence Films movie Connect. In 2013, Keel's tune "Fishin' Reel" was featured as soundtrack to the Alaskan pike-fishing segment in Confluence Films movie Waypoints.

Personal Keel is married to his bassist, Jennifer "Jenny" (née Newmark) Keel. He has a passion for fishing and has developed a number of related enterprises, including a website dedicated to sport fishing and bluegrass called Fishinandpickin.com and retreat workshops that combine these two interests.