Hailed by no less than Julian Lage as “a shining light of our community”, guitarist & composer Ethan Sherman moves between a wide variety of musical worlds with uncommon ease and a deeply personal sound.

He has spent the past decade quietly becoming one of the most respected and in-demand sidemen in both roots and indie music, touring with artists as varied and acclaimed as Sarah Jarosz, Robbie Fulks, The Wailin’ Jennys, John Mailander’s Forecast, Dove Ellis and Jade Bird. And that’s not even mentioning his ongoing gig with pop-jazz superstar Michael Bublé and his burgeoning session career at home in Los Angeles.

While Sherman is most at home backing up ace singers & songwriters onstage or in studio, he’s also nurtured a creative side, recording numerous albums of original instrumentals across the jazz and bluegrass spectrum. His newest release River of Stars (available 11/27/26) is an acoustic project centered around intimate musical dialogues with dobro icon Jerry Douglas, with cameos from Jarosz and Mailander respectively.

He is also a committed educator, co-authoring (with Adam Levy) String Theories: Tips, Challenges & Reflections for the Lifelong Guitarist, teaching at workshops like the Fretboard Summit and Chris Thile’s Acousticamp, and writing lessons for Acoustic Guitar magazine.