Big Howdy is a progressive bluegrass band from Washington, DC. Skyline alum Dede Wyland’s clear, powerful voice fronts a group of virtuoso multi-instrumentalists: Randy Barrett, Ira Gitlin, and Tom McLaughlin. A native of Wisconsin, singer and guitarist Dede Wyland honed her bluegrass skills from 1975 through 1979 playing throughout the Midwest and Central states with the Milwaukee-based band ’Grass, Food & Lodging. She then moved to New York, where she became a founding member of Tony Trischka and Skyline, one of the leading progressive bluegrass groups of the 1980s. Randy Barrett is a singer, songwriter, banjoist and fiddler who has been a mainstay of the DC bluegrass scene for more than three decades. Ira Gitlin, a native of New York City, is widely known and respected in Washington-Baltimore bluegrass, folk, and roots-music circles as a versatile multi-instrumentalist, teacher and writer. Tom McLaughlin is a contest winner on guitar, mandolin and fiddle, and a Winfield finalist on guitar and mandolin.