Cold Creek Bluegrass - About the Band

Meet Cold Creek

	Bill Sprunger has been playing bluegrass music since 1995, when he was inspired by a live performance of Alison Krauss and Union Station. While he is featured picking his guitar and singing lead and harmony vocals in Cold Creek, he is also a past instrument champion on fiddle and mandolin. Bill writes and arranges many of the band’s songs, including Faithfully, the title track of Cold Creek’s debut album. He is a former member of the award-winning bands McKenzie Bridge and Gift Horse. Away from the band, Bill is an elementary school teacher. He and his wife Shauna, and kids live in Lehi, Utah.
	Blaine Nelson is one of the finest 5 string banjo players in the state of Utah. His outstanding skills earned him the title of 2003 Utah State banjo champion. His unique and flawless banjo picking drive the sound of Cold Creek. He has played at numerous venues throughout Utah, both with his former band, Gift Horse, and as a solo act, including the 2002 Winter Olympics, the Founders Title Folk and Bluegrass Festival, and the Birch Creek Bluegrass Festival. He and his wife Sue have two children, Skyler and Hannah. They live in Sandy, Utah.
	Rob Ricks has fiddled professionally for over 20 years as a member of several groups and as a freelance live and studio musician. He was a founding member of the groups String Fever and Ryan Shupe & The Rubberband. Rob has won a number of competitions including the Telluride Fiddle Contest and the Telluride Band Contest – both at the age of 16. During the day, Rob works as a portfolio manager for a local institutional asset management firm. He currently lives in Salt Lake with his wife Cortney and son William.
	Andrea Ivey Banner has been performing since the age of seven and hails from Arkansas, where she grew up with bluegrass music. She picks up the bass and sings lead and harmony vocals for Cold Creek. Andrea is an amazing singer and songwriter, having been featured in the Tim O’Brien Songwriters’ Showcase. She has also been an integral part of such bands as Whitewater, national bluegrass playoff champions McKenzie Bridge, and the Starving Barbies Folk Band. She is married to Justin Banner and they have two sons, Luke and Jace. They live in Highland, UT.
	Jake Workman is an award winning multi-instrumentalist, born and raised in Draper, Utah. He began playing the guitar at the age of 13, inspired primarily by classic rock n’ roll such as The Beatles, Journey, and Boston. When he later picked up the banjo and mandolin, he was sold on bluegrass music immediately. As the mandolin player for Cold Creek, he incorporates his broad range of musical style to their music. He is currently studying jazz guitar in the University of Utah music program, and recently won the title “King of Blues” for the state of Utah.