Eric Dysart

In the summer of 1998, Bob and Carol Dysart took their grandson Eric with them to Branson, Missouri to see the Haygood’s Family Music Show. After the show, with the tenacity only a six year old boy could muster, Eric began pestering his grandparents to buy him a fiddle. They gave in, buying him a quarter-size fiddle and enrolled him in Jana Jae’s fiddle workshop in Grove Oklahoma that Labor Day and the battle began…not to make him pick it up and practice, but to make him put it down once in a while to do other things. Since that time, Eric has used that same tenacity to talk his grandparents into getting him a guitar, mandolin, and piano…all of which he’s mastered. In 2000, Eric performed at the Grand Grove Opry and before the Oklahoma House of Representatives in Oklahoma City. In 2001, he performed with the Magnificent 7 Show and The Larry King Country Show in Branson, Missouri, and put out his first CD, Hot Strings. In 2002, Eric performed in the Country Pickin' Opry in Richmond, Missouri, the Jana Jae Show in Coffeyville Kansas, and the opening of the Raising America Show in Branson Missouri. In 2003, Eric won the 2003 Oklahoma State Junior fiddle championship and performed at The Oklahoma Opry in Oklahoma City, as well as performing in 96 shows with The American Kids at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. In 2004, Eric won the 2004 Oklahoma State Junior Fiddle Championship, performed on the Country Tonight Show at Silver Dollar City, the opening of The Barbara Fairchild Benefit Show in Branson, Missouri, The Raising America Show in Branson, did 96 shows with the American Kids cast at Silver Dollar City. In 2004, Eric also won the title of Grand Champion with the American Kids in the General Variety Division on the Local, Regional and Grand National levels playing the fiddle in Branson, Missouri. He also won the title of Grand Champion in the General Variety Division on the National level playing the piano. In 2005, Eric became of member of the band and was featured in The Li'l Nashville Opry at the Moe Bandy Theater and had his own show at the Branson Mall Center Stage in Branson. He was a regular performer at the Fort Scott Jubilee in Fort Scott, Kansas as well as a regular performer at Grant's Rodeo Opry in Oklahoma City. He won the 2005 Oklahoma State Junior Fiddle Championship. Eric did 40 shows with the American Kids at Silver Dollar City in 2005 and performed again with the Raising America Cast. Eric's favorite performance to date was in 2005 when he performed in opening the show for Toby Keith, Vince Gill, Byron Berline, Ty England, and Katrina Elam in a benefit for the survivors of the Murrah Building bombing at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. Eric came to Winfield in 2003, 2004, and in 2005 he won third place in the Fiddle Contest. In 2006 he performs in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas playing the fiddle/violin and piano, singing, dancing and having a good time. He also plays with the Oklahoma Steel Guitar Association Band and is a member of a all youth Bluegrass Band “New Blue Strings”.