Nick Dumas & Rick Faris presented by Rainshadow Concerts

Rick Faris & Nick Dumas have a long history of playing music with each other. They both played in the world renowned bluegrass band Special Consensus together for 4 years. While this show marks Faris’ Rainshadow debut, this is Nick Dumas’ third appearance – the previous two times with Chris Luquette and Andrew Knapp. Come join us for this rare duo performance with Nick & Rick.

Rick Faris was born to play music. Most kids learn to fish or hunt from their dad. Rick learned G-runs, fiddle tunes and musical insights from his. Rick’s dad was a touring musician that rendered Bluegrass in the Ozarks, swung wide in western swing bands in dance halls and even played with legends like Reba McIntyre on Hee Haw, Nashville Now and the Grand Ole Opry. Rick’s love for music is one that can only be carefully cultivated when conditions are right and the stars just align. Rick says, “I didn’t know anyone who didn’t play or at least have an instrument in their house until I was 5.” The family of a humble musician’s means didn’t have a radio in the car so the 4 Faris boys spent the 9-hour trips up to grandma’s house singing and entertaining each other.

The four brothers, plus mom and dad, made up the award winning Faris Family Bluegrass Band. They played festivals, taught Bluegrass in the Schools programs and shared real connections for the 12 years they toured professionally. After the family decided to stop touring, Rick was looking for a new full-time gig. He got his first break when the Bluegrass stalwart, Greg Cahill, called and asked him to audition for Special Consensus. The job was to be transformative for Faris because Greg hired him to play mandolin rather than the guitar he had been honing since he was a child. With 5 weeks to learn the mandolin and win the audition, Rick Faris stepped into the next stage of his career. After 6 years, 1 Grammy nomination and 2 IBMA Awards he switched back home to guitar and the band picked up another 3 IBMA Awards and a 2nd Grammy nomination. Rick spent a total of 11 years with the globetrotting Special Consensus. Under Greg Cahill he learned the meaning of professionalism and giving back to the Bluegrass community.

Rick’s strong desire to shine out with a genuine connection to the fans and players on stage caught Stephen Mougin’s attention. His label, Dark Shadow Recording, signed Rick Faris on as a solo artist in September of 2018. Rick started writing songs and selecting the right personnel that could handle anything.  With watertight harmony singers and mind-blowing pickers, Rick set out to show the world what his brand of Bluegrass sounds like.

The first single, the blazing-fast title track written by Rick, “Breaking In Lonesome”, was released in March of 2019. It debuted at #2 on the Bluegrass Today Charts only to climb to #1 the next week.  The album and its tracks are still appearing on the charts. Rick’s album, “Breaking In Lonesome”, was ranked #6 in the Top 12 Albums of 2019 by Bluegrass Today only a month after the albums official release in November.

Rick’s latest release on Dark Shadow Recording “The Next Mountain” that released in November of 2021 has been on the charts since the release of the first single of Deep River which debuted at #2 on the Bluegrass Today charts and then went to #1 the following week! A year and a half later it’s still on the charts and going into IBMA week 2022 the Roots Music Report album chart had TNM at #1 for their Contemporary Bluegrass Chart. Rick was also recently awarded the New Artist of the Year award at the 2022 International Bluegrass Music Association’s Awards ceremony in September.

Nick grew up in Brier, Washington, and was introduced to bluegrass music at a very young age by his dobro-playing grandfather. He often listened to his grandfather’s country gospel band rehearse and was so inspired by the fiddle player that he started learning to play the violin in his school orchestra class when he was 12 years old. Nick soon began taking private fiddle lessons and then joined the family band The Three Generations, formed by his grandfather, his mother and his aunt. After learning to play mandolin, guitar and banjo and to sing lead and harmony vocals, Nick became a co-founder of the popular Northwest-based bluegrass band Northern Departure. He soon became known as a highly respected mandolin player and singer in the region and co-founded another very popular bluegrass band called North Country Bluegrass, touring both regionally and nationally.

In 2015, Nick became the new Special Consensus mandolin player. He made his Special C recording debut on the 2016 Compass Records band release “Long I Ride,” which received the 2016 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year Award for the tune “Fireball.” Nick also appeared on the 2018 Compass Records band release “Rivers And Roads” that won two IBMA awards (one for Album of the Year) and a GRAMMY nomination for Best Bluegrass Album.

In late 2019, Nick released his first ever solo recording called “Story of a Beautiful Life”. Joining Nick on the album are some of the best musicians and singers in the industry today! Also in late 2019, Nick decided get off the road with Special C to stay home a little bit more with his new wife Hana, where he is part of the house band at The Fiddler’s Farm at his home in Sturgeon Bay, WI. The Fiddler’s Farm is a stunning century old barn that has been restored into a music and wedding venue. The house band includes Nick, his wife Hana on fiddle, his father in-law Dan on guitar, and his mother in-law Teri on bass.

In 2022, Nick signed with Nashville based record label “Skyline Records” and released his second solo album titled “Details”. On this record, Nick has some of the best players and singers backing him up and it has been making great leaps since it’s release. Also in 2022, Nick started his own touring band running as “Nick Dumas & Branchline”.