Chattanooga multi-instrumentalist and mountain dulcimer maestro Butch Ross has tackled everything from Radiohead to Bach and come away with a renewed appreciation for what the humble dulcimer is capable of. No genre is off-limits, nor is there a limit to what Ross has envisioned for this specific instrument. The dulcimer is an unassuming thing, with a handful of strings and a history that feels embedded in the lineage of countless Appalachian musicians. But Ross has taken it and made it something more, something remarkable and versatile. His music is borm from his respect fior its abilities, a respect born from the years he's spent prying apart "They Should All Be This Easy"pieces and discovering new sounds where none existed before. It is this groundbreaking and iconoclastic approach that caused ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro to comment, "Now I know what a dulcimer is supposed to sound like."
Ross had been a touring singer/songwriter when he was given a mountain dulcimer as a birthday present. At first the instrument was a curiosity, but before long became his instrument of choice. A chance meeting with musician, author, and producer Robert Force (himself a dulcimer iconoclast) led to the 2005 release "The Moonshiner's Atlas" and a complete change of focus.

Since then Ross has become an in-demand performer at folk and dulcimer festivals throughout the US and Europe. He's performed at such festivals as the Central Ohio Folk Festival, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, the Lancaster (UK) Music Festival and the prestigious Philadelphia Folk Festival. 

Ross' most recent release is called "they Should All Be This Easy."It's a collection of original instrumental tunes, unexpected arrangements of traditional material and quirky cover of Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill". It's an eclectic mix that led Times-Free Press reporter Joshua Pickard to call it "a sound both experienced and timeless, as a result of its celebrated past and boundless future."

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