Joseph Decosimo

Raised in the rich traditional music community around Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau, Joseph Decosimo is a prize-winning fiddler and banjo player, teacher and folklorist specializing in Old-Time music. Based in Durham, North Carolina, he is a National Old-Time Banjo Champion and Clifftop fiddle contest winner who performs solo and with the Bucking Mules and Beehive Cathedral (with Luke Richardson and Cleek Schrey). He holds a PhD in American Studies (UNC) and MA in Folklore, has taught at East Tennessee State University and workshops worldwide, and has released albums including While You Were Slumbering (2022) and Fiery Gizzard on Dear Life Records/Free Dirt Records.