Higher Ground Bio's

Duke Weddington, a former Navy and Marine Corps Strike-Fighter
pilot, plays the banjo, guitar, mandolin and sings both lead and
harmony vocals. Raised in Burlington, North Carolina, Duke began
playing the banjo in 1972. The majority of his early years were spent
with the Earl Scruggs instruction book as well as learning songs and
licks from LPs. His influences included Doug Dillard and of course Earl
Scruggs. Duke has a solid right hand that provides a traditional
rhythmic drive to each song, as well as a natural vocal style that adds
feeling to each song. He is also a prolific songwriter, penning the
majority of the material performed by the group. His original songs
are always fresh and interesting to the ear, and contain lyrics that
capture life's emotional ups and downs. He and Diane began
co-writing songs for their 2nd CD "People, Places, Memories", and
co-wrote 5 of the songs on their 3rd CD, "Miles and Miles". Duke's
instrumental "Alamance" won the 2004 New Mexico Music Industry
Award for Best Instrumental. Check out the clip on the Sound Page.

Diane Sena, born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico, sings lead
and harmony vocals . She has performed locally for many years.
Throughout her life, she has been influenced by the distinct voices,
harmonies and styles from Barbara Streisand to Alison Krauss, and
from James Taylor to Ricky Skaggs. Diane has a unique ear for
contributing interesting and dynamic harmony vocals, and her clear,
ear-pleasing voice is well-suited to bluegrass music. She also serves
as the band's part time manager, booking performances. Diane is
also a talented song writer, co-writing 2 songs with Duke, "My
Heart is Here to Stay" and "The Home I'd Come to Know", from the
band's second CD, "People, Places, Memories." Her song writing
skills were a major influence on the band's 3rd CD "Miles and Miles",
serving as the spark that generated the songs "This Love is Real",
"Thinkin' About You", and "I Can't Make You Love Me." Check out
the clips on the Sound page, they're great, great tunes.

Fred Bolton, raised in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, plays guitar and
sings lead and harmony vocals. His early years began as a lead
singer in a rock and roll band while in high school, but in the
mid-80's, Fred discovered Doc Watson and other contemporary
players, such as Norman Blake, Tony Rice, and Tim O'Brien. Since
that time his musical interest has shifted to Bluegrass, Irish and
Celtic music as well as a strong interest in Gospel. Fred also plays
traditional and contemporary British Isles music. His rhythm guitar
skills are a backbone of the band along with fine lead and harmony
vocals. Fred has written several fine tunes for Higher Ground,
including "Tonight My Sleep Will Be Restless", based upon a
traditional Aire melody from a collection by the 18th century tax
collector and song writer Capt. Simon Fraser. Fred also wrote the
Gospel tune "Bottle of Tears" and "Big Nose Kate" (based upon the
gunfight at the OK Corral) for our 2nd CD. His efforts continued
with the Gospel tune "O Judas", written for our 3rd album, "Miles
and Miles."

Dave Devlin, on mandolin, dobro, guitar (just about anything with
strings), was born and raised in the bluegrass country of Long
Island, New York. He began playing electric guitar in his early
teens and played in local rock and roll bands. In high school he
heard a Flatt and Scruggs recording and was instantly enthralled
with bluegrass music. He took up the banjo and later in college
played with a local bluegrass band. Dave taught himself how to
play the mandolin and dobro after relocating to New Mexico in
1992. He has played with a variety of local musicians over the
years. His musical influences include Matt Flinner, John
Reischman, and Jimmy Gaudreau on mandolin, and Mike
Auldridge, Rob Ickes and Jerry Douglas on the dobro. Dave has
written some great instrumentals for the band to include: "Pass
the Salt", "Tatnuck Hill", "Backburn", "Coffee Talk", and also wrote
the music for "My Heart is Here to Stay" (lyrics by Duke and Diane)
on our 2nd CD. Check out the sound clips on these solid tunes.
Dave is the king of adlib on instumental breaks.

Mark Smith, on bass and guitar, hails from the Appalachian
foothills in Knoxville, Tennessee. Wanting to see the Soutwest, he
relocated to New Mexico in 1984. Mark has played bass since
1981, studying music at the Berklee College in Boston and at the
University of Tennessee. He is well versed in a variety of musical
styles from bluegrass and country to jazz and R&B. Mark
possesses an innate ability to set the perfect bass tempo, feel and
progression for each and every song performed by the band. In
addition to his work with Higher Ground, Mark is in high demand
and active with many other local jazz, pop, and folk groups in the
Albuquerque and Santa Fe areas. Mark is also a song writer,
creating the music and lyrics for "A Broken Man", from our first CD
"Black and White, Faded and Torn." Gifted on several
instruments, his lead guitar skills shine on his original
instrumental "Maynardville Stagger" from our 2nd CD "People,
Places, Memories." Have a listen on the Sound Page.