Jesse Meador is a Kentucky banjo player and singer who won the National Bluegrass Banjo Championship at Winfield, Kansas, in 2022, the festival’s 50th year. He plays banjo, sings lead, and writes songs for Kentucky Just Us, a touring bluegrass band from Glasgow, Kentucky. He also teaches banjo.
Why Meador matters
Meador is both a contest champion and his band’s lead singer. Kentucky Just Us plays more than 100 dates a year. Songwriter Tim Raybon said the band’s high harmonies and banjo-driven sound reminded him of the Osborne Brothers.
Life and career
Kentucky Just Us formed in 2014, and Meador calls himself a founding member. Bluegrass Today called it the group he grew up in. The band won the KSMU Youth in Bluegrass contest in 2019 and the Dailey and Vincent Landfest band contest. It was the first Artist in Residence at the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and Museum. It has played the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the Station Inn, and Silver Dollar City.
Meador won Winfield in 2022, ahead of Steven Moore and Anthony Howell. That year the band released Mountains of Home. In 2023 he sang lead on the band’s single Bluegrass Music, a Tim Raybon song that honors the Osborne Brothers. The band released 10 in 2025 and won the 2025 Josie Music Award for Fan’s Choice Duo/Group of the Year, presented at the Grand Ole Opry. Since 2022 he has taught banjo online and in person.
Playing style
Meador teaches Scruggs, melodic, and single-string styles, traditional or progressive. Bluegrass Today praised his “clear tenor voice.” His band builds its sound on banjo and high harmony, in the Osborne Brothers tradition.
Essential recordings
Mountains of Home, Kentucky Just Us (2022) 10, Kentucky Just Us (2025).
Awards and honors
National Bluegrass Banjo Championship, Walnut Valley Festival, first place (2022) Josie Music Award, Fan’s Choice Duo/Group of the Year, with Kentucky Just Us (2025).
Watch and listen
Kentucky Just Us plays the instrumental Wheel Hoss, with Meador on banjo.
The official video for Wild Blue Violets by Kentucky Just Us.
What to learn from Meador
Sing and pick. Meador fronts his band on banjo and lead vocals. For the banjo-and-tenor sound his band is known for, study the Osborne Brothers records.
Sources
About Kentucky Just Us Kentucky Just Us media page Kentucky Just Us returns to Hall of Fame, Kentucky Music Hall of Fame (2024) Kentucky Just Us brings national banjo champion Jesse Meador to Opry Saturday, Herald-Dispatch (2023) Bluegrass Music, new single from Kentucky Just Us, Bluegrass Today (2023) Jesse Meador, banjo teacher, Banjo Hangout Walnut Valley Festival winners archive, alphabetical (PDF)
Related players
See the banjo players hub and the bluegrass banjo guide for more pickers. Steven Moore placed second and Anthony Howell third behind Meador at Winfield in 2022. The band’s sound goes back to Sonny Osborne and the Osborne Brothers.