Multi-instrumentalist John McEuen, best known as a member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, is a key figure in the history of American folk music. Born in Oakland, California, McEuen grew up outside of Los Angeles and began playing the banjo at age seventeen. He won a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album in 2009, performed on his old friend Steve Martin's The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo, and received the 2016 Independent Music Award for Best Americana Album for his own solo project, Made in Brooklyn. He was inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2017.