Band Members:
Fred Frank plays mandolin in the group. He has performed with the Stone Mountain Bluegrass Co., from Casper, Wyoming. This band was one of the first to play at the Adams County Festival in Colorado, now known as Rockygrass. He was a founding member of the Montana band, Deep River, now touring as Kane's River.
Emily Frank, guitar, grew up in northern Idaho playing and singing with her family, the Greers. Her sisters Marla and Carla now have a bluegrass band in Missouri known as The Greers. Emily played with the band, From The Heart, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, when she was asked to join New South Fork to add her great vocal talents to the group. She writes a great deal of the traditional sounding original material for the band.
Carrie Bean started on the electric bass and Rock and Roll music. She was recruited by New South Fork to Bluegrass music which she now loves and plays with all her heart. Although she hadn't played Bluegrass before, she has learned at an amazing pace and is firmly rooted in the genre now. She specializes in stand-up bass and also writes a lot of the more contemporary-sounding material. When she's not playing bluegrass, you can finder climbing or snowboarding in the Teton mountains of Wyoming.
Tom Middleton, banjo, grew up in Virginia where he was exposed to Bluegrass music at an early age. He began playing banjo and guitar at the age of 11. Tom attended college at Virginia Tech in the late 70's and early 80's where he had the opportunity to play music with some extraordinary musicians from the surrounding area, He has played in numerous working bands in the states of Virginia, New Mexico, and Idaho, and in the country of Guatemala. Tom has contributed many original true-life based songs to the band's set list.
Fiddle player, Jeff Forbes, began learning the violin at the age of 7 in his hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana. His interest turned to Bluegrass music while living in New Mexico during the early 90's. There, he performed with the Santa Fe based Bluegrass band, Higher Ground, for five years and recorded two CD's. After moving to Idaho in 2003, Jeff is thrilled to have become the most recent member of New South Fork.