From Morris Public Relations, which represents Wyatt Ellis, whose debut album, “Happy Valley,” will officially be released on Feb. 2, 2024:

Born in 2009, Ellis grew up not far from the Great Smoky Mountains. His first recollection of hearing the mandolin is Bobby Osborne’s iconic solo on the Osborne Brothers’ bluegrass classic “Rocky Top.” Hearing the Tennessee bluegrass anthem echo throughout the early years of his childhood was what led Wyatt to set his sights on learning to play mandolin. With his schedule packed with school, Boy Scouts and team sports, it was hard to find time for music.

When he was almost 10 years old, Ellis talked his dad into buying him a used mandolin so he could learn to play it just like Bobby. Soon, he began weekly mandolin lessons in his hometown and quickly developed a strong desire to attend local bluegrass jams. He told his parents that he wanted to play his new mandolin alongside other bluegrass pickers.

The COVID lockdown began just as he was forging those real-life musical friendships. Team sports, local lessons and bluegrass jams came to an abrupt end. At the same time, festivals and in-person recording sessions suddenly stopped, parking the most in-demand bluegrass musicians at home. Many of his favorite mandolin players started teaching or simply spending more time connecting within the community online.

In the fall of 2020, Ellis was chosen by his hero Sierra Hull, herself a former mandolin prodigy, for a Tennessee Folklife apprenticeship. Eager to improve under the watch of a true virtuoso, Ellis describes those one-on-one tutorials as “working on exactly what I needed to work on at the time. Details. Timing. Tone. Getting all the little things right by slowing down was a really big deal in that situation. Sierra has taken bluegrass mandolin to another dimension and I was excited to start my journey with her. I’ve played my mandolin every day since then.”

Having never been a fan of watching television or playing video games, playing mandolin became Ellis’s preferred pastime. With no close neighbors and the music world suddenly at his fingertips, his passion for the instrument grew. As word circulated in the bluegrass community about his accelerated abilities, Wyatt befriended many of the genre’s top mandolin players through camps, workshops, and individual lessons.

In October 2022, Ellis performed alongside former Bluegrass Boy Peter Rowan and Grammy winner Molly Tuttle at Rowan’s induction into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame. Ellis was invited by his ultimate mandolin hero, Marty Stuart, to help kick off the Grand-Reopening of the Ellis Theater in Philadelphia, Mississippi. In March 2023, Ellis joined the genre’s newest superstar, Billy Strings, to honor Doc Watson at his 100th birthday celebration. The now 14-year-old was recently invited to play the iconic MerleFest event Mandolin Mania with five of his mandolin heroes. And, on Nov. 10, 2023, Ellis made his official debut on The Grand Ole Opry, a milestone achieved by only a rare few at such a young age.

As a young musician just starting out on his musical journey, Ellis has found that the bluegrass community is full of supporters, kind words, and encouragement. He has accrued more than 90,000 followers on combined social media before ever releasing a single.

His album is available for pre-order at https://wyattellis.com/