History was made in 2019 at the Grand Ole Opry with an unprecedented debut performance by Kyle Dillingham on a Dolly Parton skateboard!

 

"Kyle Dillingham has made Opry history. His debut tonight, and the first ever to enter and exit on a skateboard. It is my thought that the fiddler blew the roof off the Grand Ole Opry house tonight!" -Bill Cody, Grand Ole Opry Announcer/Host

 

"Proud of you brother...you play violin/fiddle with more passion than anyone in history...and the skateboard? Wow!!!" -The Oak Ridge Boys

 

"I've never seen anything like this before!" -Roy Clark, Country Music Hall of Fame.

 

"Hell of a musician, that's for sure." -Charley Pride.

 

"Ken Burns and I travel all over the United States. After hearing your performance, we turned to each other and agreed that we had witnessed something amazing." -Paula Kerger, President of PBS.

 

2020 and 2011 International Acoustic Music Award Winner.

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The people of Thailand pronounce him the “American violin wizard”. The Bangkok Post calls him “bewitching.” Bangkok’s Patravadi Theatre billed him as “the world-famous fiddler from the United States.” Who is this musical magician that the world loves so much? It is International Acoustic Music Award Winner, Kyle Dillingham, who has represented the U.S. throughout the world with his fiery fiddling.

 

Dillingham, an Oklahoma native, has electrified and energized audiences in 41 countries. He picked up the violin when he was nine, and eight years later, he gave two featured performances at the Grand Ole Opry.

 

Honored by Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry, Dillingham was selected as a recipient of the 2009 Governor's Arts Award, acknowledging his life's work as a violinist, vocalist, musical ambassador for the state of Oklahoma and for his gift to connect with people throughout the world.

 

Spring 2019, Dillingham and his band, Horseshoe Road, participated in the 2018-2019 American Music Abroad season, organized by The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and The Association of American Voices, with a tour through Kosovo and Kuwait. They were chosen as one of fifteen ensembles, standing out in an applicant pool of nearly 300 bands. 

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With an eclectic musical style ranging from Blues to Bluegrass, Gypsy Jazz to Western Swing, Country, Rock and Gospel, Kyle Dillingham & Horseshoe Road blend them into an earthy genre they call Heartland Americana. 

 

Later in 2019, Dillingham and his band completed their third Silk Road and the Fiddle Tour in China representing Oklahoma and the United States with a musical celebration of cultural relations and performances. 

 

“We were the first ever Americana/Country band to perform in the region of Gansu Province where we toured,” said Dillingham. “We were also one of only four to be granted a meeting with Gansu Governor, Tang Renjian, representing our state with a letter from Governor Mary Fallin. Governor Tang gave us a hearty two thumbs up for his first-ever personal serenade we gave him during our official meeting! We were proud to represent the United States at the International Expo that was also attended by around 40 ministry-level lead delegations,” said Dillingham.

 

Kyle Dillingham & Horseshoe Road have also taken the stage with The Charlie Daniels Band, The Oak Ridge Boys, Roy Clark, Hank Thompson, Lee Greenwood, Vince Gill, Jimmy Webb, Toby Keith and Thailand’s Pop Superstar, Tik Shiro, and has performed with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, China’s Lanzhou Symphony Orchestra and the Amici New York Symphony Orchestra, among others.

 

In 2018, they were one of the featured performers at the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellows Concert in Washington, DC, to honor their good friend and Fellow recipient, Manuel Cuevas. Cuevas has been attributed as being the man who put Johnny Cash in black.

 

“We were also selected for a coveted performance at the 2018 CMA Fest in Nashville, which was another highlight of our career”, Dillingham said. “After our performance, we had the chance to play for Charley Pride in his dressing room at the Grand Ole Opry!”

 

That same year, they also opened for Grammy Award-winner, Lee Greenwood, at the renowned Neewollah Festival in Independence, Kansas.

 

Dillingham is now managed by legendary impresario, Jim Halsey, who has guided the careers of many great performers including Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Clint Black, James Brown and many others.