Jeremy Stephens has announced that he will give up his position as guitarist and bass singer with The Chuck Wagon Gang at the end of this month. He has spent the last six years touring with the venerable Gospel group who have been performing under that name since the mid-1930s.
Stephens is also a long time bluegrass musician from Danville, VA, now living in the Nashville area. Playing both guitar and banjo, he is a serious student of the music of the ’40s-’60s, and a devoted follower of the banjo work of Don Reno. He and his wife, Corrina, have a fantastic throwback band called High Fidelity and also perform together as a duo playing older bluegrass and country music. Both also do freelance work in town, and Jeremy says that he is departing the Gang to focus more on work with Corrina.
He shared a few words on what he was able to do with the Gang.
“I started my work with the Chuck Wagon Gang on November 4, 2010, making for a little over 6 six years with them. I’m very thankful for these wonderful six years.
I’ve been so blessed. In the time I have been with them, they appeared on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium 3 times (Marty Stuart’s Late Nite Jam, Friday Night Opry, and Opry Country Classics), Marty Stuart’s TV show 3 times, Ronnie Reno TV show (Reno’s Old Time Music), and at hundreds of other places across the country.
Karl Smakula, a recent bluegrass program graduate at ETSU, will be taking the guitar duties and Wyatt Austin, a friend and fan of the Chuck Wagon Gang, will be taking the roll as bass singer. I have loved all of my time with the Chuck Wagon Gang. It has been a wonderful six years and certainly my leaving is bittersweet, but I am very excited to be more involved again with the bluegrass community.”
And we’re glad to have him back!
