Born and raised in Hampshire County, West Virginia, multi-instrumentalist Ben Townsend has studied and performed traditional Appalachian music extensively. With banjo mentors such as Riley Baugus and Ron Mullenex, and fiddle mentors such as Dave Bing, Joe Herrmann and Earl White, Townsend has studied a variety of old-time traditions ranging from the archaic, haunting fiddle of his home region to the round peak music of North Carolina and Virginia to the bluegrass of East Kentucky and Ohio.