At age ten, Larry Efaw first got on stage with a bluegrass band in his home state of Ohio. When he was seven, he started playing the mandolin and grew up watching his dad’s band, Ed Efaw and the Bluegrass Mountaineers. “He put me on stage with the band when I was ten years old, but I stood in the background and picked a little when I knew something. Every now and then, he’d bring me up to the mic for a solo, but I returned to the back as soon as I could.” 

Larry got the hang of it, and he’s made a lifelong career of playing and promoting bluegrass music. While he had opportunities to join national bluegrass bands through the years, he remained loyal to his father. Even so, Larry’s musical career has afforded him the pleasure of playing with many bluegrass greats, including Dr. Ralph Stanley, Jim and Jesse, Doyle Lawson, Bill Monroe, Del McCoury, and Rhonda Vincent. “I was fortunate to have played with the first generation of bluegrass artists, and I learned something from all of them. They were all so nice to me.”

Because of the support, he got growing up, Larry has always made a point of encouraging young people. “If I see young folks jamming at a festival, I stop and join in with them. I learned from other people helping me on my way up, so I try to do the same.” 

Ed Efaw started the band in 1962. “Dad knew three chords on the mandolin,” recalls Larry. “When I told him that’s what I wanted to play, he brought a mandolin home and laid it on my bed. He told me not to touch that mandolin. Well, that’s like giving a kid candy and telling him not to eat it. I taught myself to play.” 

Sometimes, being in the right place at the right time can change your trajectory. It happened to Larry when he was playing a show in 1987. “We opened for Ralph Stanley. His lead singer didn’t show up, and he asked me to join him on stage. I ended up doing two shows with him. Then he asked me if I’d put on a show.” 

The bluegrass Standard