Gene and Gayla, who have played as a duo since 2004, are sometimes joined by other musicians. In 2015 they formed the band Gene and Gayla and the Fireflies with Barry Lawson and Kent Ippolito.
Since the 1980’s, multi-instrumentalist Kent Ippolito has performed and recorded with numerous artists, including Stony Man, John Starling and Carolina Star, Laurie Rose Griffith and Peter Mealy, Stuart Whitford, and Vertical Land. He plays dobro and clawhammer banjo with the Fireflies, though he is most experienced on guitar and mandolin.
Barry Lawson has a decade of experience in the Richmond acoustic music scene, primarily on mandolin, but with additional experience on upright bass and guitar. He has performed and recorded with The Honey Dewdrops, the Mill Run Bluegrass Band, and other regional and national acts. He has performed with Gene and Gayla since 2011 and appears on both of their albums.
Since the 1980’s, multi-instrumentalist Kent Ippolito has performed and recorded with numerous artists, including Stony Man, John Starling and Carolina Star, Laurie Rose Griffith and Peter Mealy, Stuart Whitford, and Vertical Land. He plays dobro and clawhammer banjo with the Fireflies, though he is most experienced on guitar and mandolin.
Barry Lawson has a decade of experience in the Richmond acoustic music scene, primarily on mandolin, but with additional experience on upright bass and guitar. He has performed and recorded with The Honey Dewdrops, the Mill Run Bluegrass Band, and other regional and national acts. He has performed with Gene and Gayla since 2011 and appears on both of their albums.
photos 1-5 by Gary Alter, photo 6 by Georgianne Stinnett