South River Strings

South River Strings is a four piece bluegrass, country, new grass band. From the harmonies to the beautiful sounds of acoustic instruments we try to bring you a full experience of Appalachia and the way we all grew up with picking on the front porch.

Cole Daniels- mandolin/guitar lead vocals 

Josh Williams-guitar/harmonica vocals 

Will Joyce- duclaimer/dobro/banjo vocals 

Forest Burnette- bass/guitar vocals 

South River Strings (SRS) was formed by a group of friends pickin’ for fun. They soon came to find their voices and playing ability collided beautifully. With roots in bluegrass rock and roll and the blues SRS bring a unique blend of those genres in all of their music whether it is traditional bluegrass to 60s and 70s rock covers to slow waltzes. SRS was selected to be one of ten artists to represent the state of Virginia for a benefit concert for St Jude’s research that raised tens of thousands of dollars to help children. The bluegrass sounds of SRS the unique vocals harmonies and bluesy licks are bound to keep your attention. 

South River Strings Sample Song List

Ballad of String Bean and Estelle      Sam Bush

Girl from the North Country             Sam Bush

Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground   Chris Thile

Heart in a Cage                                  Chris Thile

Copperhead Road                              Steve Earle

Learning to Fly                                    Tom Petty

Free Fallin’                                          Tom Petty

Mary Jane’s Last Dance                      Tom Petty

Nose to the Grindstone                     Tyler Childers

Feathered Indians                              Tyler Childers

White House Road                             Tyler Childers

Hard Times                                         Tyler Childers

Ol’ Red                                                     Blake Shelton

Boy Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn               Alison Krauss and Union Station

Last Train From Poor Valley              Norman Blake and Tony Rice

Cry Lonely                                           Chris Knight

It Ain’t Easy Being Me                          Chris Knight

Atlantic City                                        The Band

Hurricane                                            The Band

The Weight                                         The Band

Paradise                                              John Prine

Sailing Shoes / Crossroads                Sam Bush

The Joker                                            Steve Miller Band

Rain and Snow                                     Del McCoury

Tupelo                                                Jason Isbell

Blue Side of the Mountain                The SteelDrivers

Turn the Page                                     Bob Seeger

Cecil Brown                                        Hank Williams III

Wayfaring Stranger                            Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys

My Little Georgia Rose                      Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys

Callin’ Baton Rouge                           New Grass Revival

Wanted Dead or Alive                         Bon Jovi

Diamonds and Gasoline                    Turnpike Troubadours

Can’t You See                                     Marshall Tucker Band

Whiskey                                              Trampled by Turtles

Meet me at the Creek                        Billy Strings

I’m on Fire                                          Bruce Springsteen

Red Rocking Chair                              Doc Watson

Running on Empty                             Jackson Browne

Friend of the Devil                             Grateful Dead

Taking it Easy                                     The Eagles

Cole Daniels was born Charlottesville, VA but grew up in Warrenton, VA spending many summers with family in Grundy, Virginia. Bluegrass ran deep through his blood becoming a proficient drummer by the age of 7 and later picking up mandolin. He spent 8 years in the United States Marine Corps traveled the world but always brought his mandolin and kept his roots close. He has been a session musician for step 3 productions in Williamsburg, Virginia, played with multiple big names including Grammy nominated Darrell Webb and Barry Abernathy. Cole is married with 2 children and lives in the river valleys of Stanardsville, VA.

Josh Williams’ bio: Growing up, I was exposed to Rock and Folk by my older brother, Motown and Pop Oldies by my parents, Classic Country by my grandparents, and Bluegrass just by virtue of living in Franklin County, VA.  Started classical piano lessons at the age of 8, but by 12 my heart was yearning for stringed instruments, starting with the guitar. No matter what I’m doing, I’m most at home in music that doesn’t stray too far from the truly American repertoire of blues, jazz, country, soul, rock, folk and bluegrass. I currently live on a 26 acre farm at the foot of Shenandoah with my family of 5.

Forrest Burtnette grew up in Hampton Roads but has lived in Central Virginia for over 20 years. He majored in music at JMU in the 1990s and has toured extensively with bands such as Wisher, Sun Domingo and bicycle. He is a professional songwriter who has been signed to Famous Music Publishing. Forrest now runs his own publishing company called Hookhunters, with his friend Marcus Behrens. Forrest is married with two children, loves reading, biking and all playing all sorts of music.