Wyatt Ellis

Wyatt Ellis, a 17-year-old singer, songwriter and mandolin player from East Tennessee, born in Knoxville and raised in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. Deeply rooted in the mountain music that shaped him, Wyatt learned from many of the musicians who carried the tradition before him, including his late mentor Bobby Osborne, while developing a sound and songs of his own. Wyatt first gained attention as a mandolin player, earning the IBMA Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year Award AND making his official Grand Ole Opry debut at just 14. His debut album, Happy Valley, a collection of original instrumentals, reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Bluegrass Albums chart. Since then, he has performed and recorded with artists including Billy Strings, Marty Stuart and Bernie Leadon, appeared at Newport Folk Festival, Crossroads Guitar Festival, Big Ears and other major stages, and performed his original music with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. In 2026, Billboard named Wyatt to its 21 Under 21 list. Now Wyatt is moving into a new chapter centered on singing and songwriting. Over the past year, he has developed as a songwriter, drawing heavily from East Tennessee, the Smokies and the music he grew up studying. His new recordings bring those roots together with the perspective of a young artist coming into his own. With new music on the way and a growing body of original songs, Wyatt is carrying the mountain music that raised him forward in a voice that is distinctly his own.