When it comes to movers and shakers in the bluegrass world, Full Cord is a super- 
group on the rise. 
After winning the prestigious 2022 Telluride Bluegrass Band Competition in 
Colorado, the Michigan-based group followed that with another much-coveted 
honor when the International Bluegrass Music Association named Full Cord its 
“Momentum Award Band of the Year.” 
While mandolinist Brian Oberlin notes the band’s music “is new and fresh to the 
ears of seasoned bluegrass fans,” the bluegrass traditions in Full Cord have deep 
roots. 
The group’s members – Oberlin, guitarist Eric Langejans, bassist Todd 
Kirchner and fiddler Grant Flick – boast decades of musical 
artistry, with experience in popular performing bands from Michigan to Oregon. 
And with the recent addition of award-winning, Colorado-based banjoist Ricky 
Mier, Full Cord is poised to take the next step in its journey as a bluegrass 
powerhouse: The band’s debut album on Nashville’s Dark Shadow Recordings is 
set to drop in 2023. 
Full Cord’s songwriting has reached a new “tipping point,” Katie Kirchner 
suggests, enhanced by the group’s vast repertoire and robust experience in 
numerous band projects over the years. 
And Oberlin insists the band is “just hitting its stride” – ready to follow in the 
footsteps of fellow Michigan bluegrass icons Billy Strings and Greensky Bluegrass 
as yet another star in the making.

Billy Strings had this to say: 

Sometime in 2011, I moved away from my hometown of Ionia and headed up to Traverse City to see what kind of trouble I could find. I worked at a local hotel for a while before I got the call: I was on the clock, but I picked up anyway. The fella on the line said he was a bluegrass musician, and he expressed interest in playing tunes with me at some point. I was excited to make some new friends and meet some of the local pickers in the area, but I didn’t know I was walking into the inferno. At that first get-together, I met Paul Kirchner, who is a great banjo player and a walking encyclopedia of all things bluegrass. I quickly realized his kids are musicians, and his kids’ kids will probably play too. I was invited to stay for dinner and to come back and pick any time. I ended up hanging out with the Kirchners and their extended musical family quite a bit. They introduced me to Eric Langejans, and we hit it off pretty quickly, discovering our shared love of Flatpicking-guitar and the smell of flowers. Playing bluegrass music into the wee hours of the morning with them at bluegrass festivals across the region was a common occurrence. Shortly after I met Todd, we did a gig or two together, and Eric was always around singing and playin’ the hell out of that guitar. These fellas know some great tunes. It’s such a blast to make music with them, and it’s exciting to see what they’ve been up to over the last few years. I’ve noticed Full Cord ignite with the additions of fiddle maestro Grant Flick, ripping banjo of Ricky Mier, and rock-solid vocals, repertoire, and mandolin mastery of Brian Oberlin. The first play-through of this album made me want to grab my axe, drive up North, meet up with these guys, and jam till tomorrow morning like we’ve done so many times before. I don’t need to though, because songs on this record transport me back home. 

-Billy Strings

THE BAND 

ERIC LANGEJANS - Guitar / Vocals

Eric is a multi-instrumentalist with an exceptional ear for music. He has been in many bands including local favorites Down Home and Woodpile. Affectionately called “Fast Eric” by his peers, his lighting fast riffs on the guitar leave you wondering what he’s going to do next. Eric also plays mandolin and fiddle when the need arises. He has recently performed on stage with John McEuen of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. 
 

TODD KIRCHNER - Bass

Todd has played bass since his early teens and grew up picking bluegrass with his dad and brothers. He got his first upright bass from his dad as a Christmas gift and has not put it down since. He has played bass in many bands and has a deep appreciation for all types of music which you can hear in every performance. 
 

GRANT FLICK - Fiddle

Of Bowling Green, Ohio, has been playing and performing for the past eight years on many instruments including violin, mandolin, tenor guitar, tenor banjo, and nyckelharpa. Primarily, his interests are jazz/swing, bluegrass, and new acoustic music. Currently, his main original musical projects include Westbound Situation and Warren & Flick. He has received numerous music awards including the 2013 Daniel Pearl Memorial Violin, and he was a 2015 finalist in the Walnut Valley Festival Fiddle Competition in Winfield, Kansas, as well as a 2017 finalist at the Freshgrass Fiddle Competition in North Adams, Massachusetts. He has been selected as a two-time participant (2015 and 2016) of the Acoustic Music Seminar held at the Savannah Music Festival in Savannah, Georgia. He has taught workshops at the Tenor Guitar Gathering (Astoria, Oregon), Falling Waters Music Camp (Ithaca, New York), and Augusta Bluegrass Week (Elkins, West Virginia). He has performed at the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, Red Wing Roots Festival, Indiana Fiddler’s Gathering, and many other festivals.  Frank Vignola, Mike Marshall, Julian Lage, and Darol Anger are just some of the notable musicians with whom Grant has appeared on stage. Grant is attending the University of Michigan for jazz studies. 
 

BRIAN OBERLIN - Mandolin / Vocals

Brian is an internationally acclaimed mandolin player and educator. During his decades-long professional career, Brian has been playing swing, bluegrass, and Italian classical as a solo mandolinist and vocalist. Brian celebrated the release of his 20th album in May 2016; Troubadour which features Brian playing solo and singing original music. Along with the myriad of award-winning bands (The Journeymen, GER Mandolin Orchestra with Mike Marshall and Twin Mandolin Slingers with Evan J. Marshall) and ensembles he has collaborated with throughout the United States and Europe, Brian is also the founder and director of the River of the West Mandolin Camp, the Great Lakes Mandolin Camp and the Oregon Mandolin Orchestra. Brian was a top ten finalist at the 2013 Telluride Troubadour Contest, an instructor/performer at the 2012, 2013, and 2017 International Mandolin Academy in Italy, a featured soloist at the 2014 EuroFest Plucked String Festival in Bruchsal, Germany, and a featured soloist at the 2015 Mandolin Upgrade festival in Berlin, Germany. When he is not performing, Brian teaches music to children and adults at art centers, cultural events, festivals, camps, music schools, and academies.  

More info on Brian can be found at www.mandoberlin.com 
 

Ricky Mier - Banjo / Vocals