Pete Rowan

Peter Rowan
Peter Rowan (left) performing with Tony Rice on November 7, 2008.
Background information
Born	(1942-07-04) July 4, 1942 (age 75) Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Genres	Bluegrass, Progressive bluegrass, Folk, Country, Country rock, Folk rock, Psychedelic, Tex-Mex
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, Vocals, Mandolin
Years active	1963–present
Labels	Rounder, Flying Fish, Sugar Hill, Compass, Omnivore
Associated acts	Earth Opera, Old and in the Way, Seatrain
Website	peter-rowan.com

Peter Rowan (born July 4, 1942) is an American bluegrass musician and composer. Rowan plays guitar and mandolin, yodels and sings.

Rowan was born in Wayland, Massachusetts to a musical family. From an early age, he had an interest in music and eventually learned to play the guitar from his uncle. At the age of twelve, he heard Elvis Presley for the first time, and spent his teenage years absorbing the sights and sounds of the Hillbilly Ranch, a legendary Country music nightclub in Boston frequented by old-time acts like The Lilly Brothers and Tex Logan. In 1956 while still in high school, he formed his first band, the Cupids, a rockabilly band.

Influenced by the blues musician Eric Von Schmidt, Rowan traded his electric guitar for an acoustic and began to play the blues. He was also influenced by the folk sound of Joan Baez. In college, he discovered bluegrass after hearing The Country Gentlemen and The Stanley Brothers. He soon discovered the music of Bill Monroe, and with some help from banjo player Bill Keith, he was invited to Nashville to audition for Monroe. Accompanied by Keith, Rowan went to Nashville and was hired in 1963 or 1964 as songwriter, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of Monroe's Bluegrass Boys. His recording debut as a "bluegrass boy" took place on October 14, 1966 and he recorded a total of fourteen songs with Monroe, including the classic "Walls of Time" co-written with Monroe, before his tenure ended in the spring of 1967.

Rowan teamed up with David Grisman in 1967 forming the band Earth Opera which frequently opened for The Doors. In 1969, Rowan joined Seatrain, along with Richard Greene. In 1973, Rowan, together with Greene, Grisman, Bill Keith, and Clarence White, formed the bluegrass band Muleskinner. The band released one album.