Bio

When Nicholas Cameron was 17, his musical world shifted the moment he picked up a mandolin. He didn't just discover bluegrass— he discovered what playing in a musical community truly felt like.

His musical journey began much earlier. Making his stage debut at age five in Guys and Dolls, the Sandy Spring, MD native spent his youth studying classical voice, performing musical theater across Montgomery County, and "trying to make the rock "n' roll thing work." But everything changed when he spotted a mandolin in a music shop—he traded his quarter collection to buy it. Cameron hung up his Stratocaster and started picking songs of the high lonesome.

Today, community remains central to his work: as bandleader of bluegrass band Cherry Blossom Special, bodhránist in the Celtic-Klezmer fusion group Corned Beef Hash, one-half of the husband-wife folk duo Gabby and Nick Cameron, and bluegrass jam leader at the School of Musical Traditions. Inspired to craft sonic narratives of human connection, Nick is pursuing an MMin Composition at the University of Maryland, having works commissioned by Balance Campaign and the Castalian String Quartet. Cameron has performed at the White House, Olney Theater Center, and the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

Nick's compositions explore the intersections of seemingly disparate themes: tradition and modernity, "high-art" and vernacular music, self and community. A versatile musician, he is proficient in voice, mandolin, and bodhrán. As a composer, Cameron aspires to one day write his own musical. He resides in Baltimore, MD with his wife and cats.