Christopher Wyatt Clarke

Chris Clarke comes from a family of musicians. His grandfather, J.P. Clarke, was ragtime piano player, as well as an old time fiddle, guitar and mandolin player. His brother and cousin are both performing artists in Virginia. As a kid, he was exposed early on to old time fiddle and bluegrass music at family reunions and pickin’ parties. Clarke began writing and playing the guitar almost 20 years ago after seeing Bob Dylan perform with the Grateful Dead in 1986 – this experience changed his life forever and served as the compass for much of his musical exploration for the next few years.

During college in Elkins, West Virginia, Chris was exposed to the traditional music masters who took up residence at the Augusta Heritage Center – fiddlers like Ernie Carpenter, Melvin Wine, Tracy Schwarz and the country blues of John Cephas and Phil Wiggins. During these years, he heard the old time music that he grew up with in eastern Virginia. Chris studied finger-style blues guitar and developed an ear for writing melodies while living in Elkins. He also somehow managed to complete an undergraduate degree in biology and environmental science.

Back in Virginia during the early 1990s, he lived in a turn-of-the-century log cabin on the edge of the Blue Ridge Parkway and met Jeff Bibb (the founder of Webb Straps). It was through Jeff that Chris got his first Flatiron mandolin, met a few of his heroes (Peter Rowan and Jerry Douglas) and began his "woodshedding” period. During the mid 1990’s, He also finished a master’s degree in biology and worked as a freshwater fisheries ecologist, before moving to California