As a founding member of IIIRD TYME OUT, Russell has seen the group expand, and evolve, from where it started to where it has risen today. Originally from Pasadena, Texas (true home state of the ‘Whataburger’!!), he now lives near the foothills of the north Georgia mountains. Russell, born December 21, 1963, began playing music around the age of eleven after being inspired by bluegrass greats ‘The Osborne Brothers’, and joined a regional band at the age of fifteen, playing concerts and festivals in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. Around 1982, he moved to Arlington, Texas, and helped form the bluegrass band ‘Southern Connection’. After almost two years of living in Arlington, the ‘band’ moved east and settled in Asheville, North Carolina. In 1985, Russell went to work for the bluegrass band Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. After six years, and seven recordings with Quicksilver, Russell left to help form IIIRD TYME OUT in 1991. Russell has been awarded several ‘Male Vocalist’ awards to date—five of the most prestigious being the coveted ‘Male Vocalist of the Year’ by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) in 1994, 1997, 2010, 2011 & 2012.