Born and raised in Arizona’s vibrant bluegrass scene, Ten Dollar Wedding is a 5-piece band with a love of tradition and an eye toward the future. While the lineup (banjo, guitar, fiddle, mandolin, bass) and tight harmonies are something Bill Monroe might recognize, the band’s original material and arrangements mark Ten Dollar Wedding as a thoroughly contemporary act.
Born in 2022, the band is rapidly gaining fans and recognition. Ten Dollar Wedding won the band contests at the Wickenburg Bluegrass Festival and Grande Fiddle Championship. In 2023, the band played spirited sets at the Prescott Bluegrass Festival, Hassayampa Music Festival and the Wickenburg Bluegrass Festival, and brought a toe-tapping good time to bars and backyards across their home state.
While the band is relatively new, the members of Ten Dollar Wedding are bluegrass veterans. Fiddle player Mavis Enders, guitarist Chris Doyle, and mandolin player Brian Mariner are mainstays at jams in Phoenix and northern Arizona. Banjo player Patrick Brady (Romen Buffalo) and bassist Marc Oxborrow (Haymarket Squares) have spent more than a decade in other bluegrass acts.
This experience and adventurous spirit is evident in a Ten Dollar Wedding set, where a heartfelt traditional number may be followed by an energetic original and a playful reworking of a pop tune. What’s the connecting thread? Superb musicianship and the joy of hearing a band that loves playing together.