Hilary Farrer

I dedicate this bio to Weston and Damon Cann who first taught me the joys of bluegrass.

I am Hilary Farrer (as in "fairer than thou"), the band leader (though Trent will try to persuade you otherwise), and I play mandolin and fiddle in Miles To Go. I was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, though I spent nearly all my time as a fetus in Eugene, Oregon. I grew up studying the Suzuki violin method (which is the reason I can't sight read worth anything!), and picked up the guitar as a freshman in college. I was introduced to the mandolin through my friend Damon, and partially through a girl named Andrea who had big hair and swore at Damon once. And thus began my love for bluegrass music.

Some people ask how this band started. As band leader, I'm the one who knows how it started. I used to hold these weekly jam sessions in my apartment in Provo. Many varied and unusual people would show up. Some came in, some dropped out, etc. One day, Cassie, Trent, and Karin just showed up out of the blue. I knew them from a folk ensemble class I took at BYU. I knew Crystal from a folk ensemble audition (I don't think either of us got in, so we decided to start our OWN band!!). Then I was going to work in Arizona for a summer, and I knew I needed another mandolin player to take my place until I returned. So I called this boy, Don, who I knew from high school, and who I knew played the mandolin. He stuck around for about two seconds, and then he let his very talented friend Tamilisa take his place. I actually went to high school with Tamilisa, but we hated each other back then. But now I am extremely grateful for her and all the other members in the band (even those who try to usurp my power).

I just want to point out that if it weren't for me, this band wouldn't exist. In fact, for a while there, we had about 100 mandolin/fiddle players. Through my superior managerial skills and excellent judge of character (along with my complete lack of conscience), I started firing mando/fiddle players left and right until the number was down to a manageable three. Some people may ask why exactly 50% of Miles To Go is made up of mandolin/fiddle players. My answer to those people is ... because I'm the band leader, dangit! I've said it before, and I'll say it again--My life sucked, and then I got a band.