Lou Reid
Lou Reid Pyrtle, born September 13, 1954, in Union Grove, North Carolina, is an American bluegrass singer and musician. He is the bandleader of The Seldom Scene.
He grew up on a tobacco farm in Moore Springs. His father worked as a construction supervisor. After a trip to see Flatt & Scruggs, Reid fell in love with bluegrass. As a teen, he played acoustic bass with the Bluegrass Buddies and then played banjo with the group Southbound from 1973 to 1979.
In 1979 he joined Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver as a bass guitarist. Quicksilver included Lawson (mandolin), Reid (bass), Terry Baucom (banjo), and Jimmy Haley (guitar). He recorded three albums with them.
From 1982 to 1986, Reid played with the Ricky Skaggs Band, handling several instruments and harmony vocals. He became lead singer and guitarist for The Seldom Scene in 1986, replacing Phil Rosenthal. He stayed with the group until 1993, then moved to Nashville to tour with Vince Gill and Vern Gosdin. After John Duffey’s death in 1996, Ben Eldridge brought Reid back to The Seldom Scene, while he also performed with his own band Carolina.
In 1992 Reid started his band Carolina with Terry Baucom and Marcus Smith. They released Carolina Blue (1992) and Carolina Moon (1995). Baucom later left, and in 1996 Carolina released Lou Reid & Carolina. In 2010 they released Blue Heartache. Christy Reid joined Carolina in 2002, first as a guitarist and later as a bassist. The 2005 album Time featured Christy, guitarist Kevin Richardson, Trevor Watson, and Joe Hannabach, with guest appearances by Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, and Jerry Douglas.
Carolina won the IBMA Emerging Artist of the Year in 1994, and Carolina Moon was nominated for IBMA Album of the Year in 1995. Reid met his wife Christy in 2001 when she auditioned for Carolina; they married about three years later. They have two daughters.
In 2008 Reid joined the bluegrass supergroup Longview to record Deep in the Mountains.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 01:23 (CET).