Dirk Powell

Person · Male

Dirk Powell

From
Oberlin, United States
Since
1969–present
Releases
12

About

Dirk Powell (born June 7, 1969) is an American fiddler, banjo player, and singer. He was born in Oberlin southwest of Elyria, Ohio into a family with deep Kentucky roots. He has lived in Louisiana since 1992. He is considered one of the world's leading experts on traditional Appalachian fiddle and banjo styles. Powell is also a recording engineer, producer, and owns a studio, the Cypress House, in Breaux Bridge near Lafayette, Louisiana. The studio is in a converted 1850s Louisiana Creole home on Bayou Teche and focuses on vintage gear and audio..

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Powell has won four Grammy Awards and has been a guest on television shows including Late Night with David Letterman, the Today Show, and American Masters. For ten years, he was Joan Baez's "band." He was a longtime member of the Cajun band Balfa Toujours. He performs as a solo artist, as a featured artist with Transatlantic Sessions, on tour with Mary Chapin Carpenter, and as a duo with Rainy Eyes. Powell has recorded with Rhiannon Giddens, Loretta Lynn, Irma Thomas, Tim O'Brien, the Raconteurs on their record Consolers of the Lonely, and Eric Clapton.
Powell has scored and worked on numerous films including Cold Mountain, In the Electric Mist, Stevie, and Ride with the Devil. He collaborated on the score for Sundance award-winning documentary, Descendant.

From Dirk Powell on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Member of

Discography

Albums 9
EPs 1
Singles 2

Links

Married

Parent

Identifiers

IPI
00231243905

Data from MusicBrainz, saved 14 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.