Kevin Prater gets 2025 started with the first personnel change of the year, bringing in Codie Allen on banjo to fill the spot vacated by Bailey Moore. At the same time, Larry Cadle has come aboard on bass.
Prater tells us that he and the band had a great 2024, with more than 100 shows, playing the traditional Kentucky bluegrass that is his forte. He especially appreciated the contributions of Bailey Moore, who joined up to play bass and switched over to banjo, adding vocals and becoming a big part of their sound.
But Moore is soon to be married with plans to start a family, so the road life didn’t look like a good fit going forward.
Enter Codie Allen of Campbellsville, KY. Codie played saxophone as a boy, and picked up banjo during high school. He quickly fell in love with bluegrass, starting the band Kentucky Heart while attending Campbellsville University. They played together for two years before going their separate ways, and Allen started another group, Redwire Bluegrass, which worked for another two years.
The Kevin Prater Band will be Codie’s first full-time touring gig, and he is excited for the opportunity.
Larry Cadle had approached Kevin to request an audition for the bass spot, and won the job. A lifelong grasser, he comes from Galion, OH and a family of grassers including his father, Dan Cadle, and uncle, Charles Cadle. He has a good bit of experience as a touring musician on the gospel scene, but is most interested in playing bluegrass.
Boss man Kevin says that things look good for this year.
“2025 will be my 45th year in touring bluegrass, my 16th leading The Kevin Prater Band throughout the USA and Canada. I look forward to sharing this amazing group of multi-talented musicians with the bluegrass community.”
Those musicians also include Dalton Smith on guitar and Mallory Hindman on fiddle, with Prater on mandolin and vocals.
They start their 2025 shows on January 3 in Virginia and Pennsylvania. You can find information about all their performances online.
