Illustration of a man with glasses playing an acoustic guitar, with a circular orange background.

Hi, I’m David!

I’m David, and I am a mandolin nerd — a performer, educator, and YouTuber who wants to help you reach that next level in your playing. I’ve been been sharing my mandolin journey online for over 10 years.

QUICK FACTS

    • I grew up in upstate SC, where I first picked up the mandolin at age 13. My first experience playing in a band was with a local Irish group called Emerald Road.

    • In 2013 I graduated with a one-of-a-kind Bachelors of Science in Mandolin Music Performance from Bryan College where I created many of my own mandolin-focused courses and studied independently with mandolinist Matt Flinner.

    • I moved to Nashville in 2014 after graduating and later started playing with 10-time IBMA Bass Player of the Year Missy Raines. I had the privilege of recording mandolin on Missy’s Grammy-nominated album Royal Traveler (2018).

    • Around the same time, I started my YouTube Channel with the weekly Mandolin Mondays series which carried on for 500 consecutive weeks and grew to feature performance videos from some of the best mandolin players around the world.

    • In 2017, I joined the contemporary bluegrass band Mile Twelve in Boston, and we hit the road–touring worldwide, recording 3 studio albums, and winning multiple IBMA awards.

    • After the world came to halt in 2020, I started focusing on making lesson content for my YouTube channel–this became the seeds for what I now do full-time with my channel and Patreon page.

    • Now I live in South Carolina. I’m married to the love of my life, Tabitha, and we have two amazing kids. Tabitha and I now play music together in our transatlantic folk and bluegrass group The Foreign Landers. 

A collage featuring a man with glasses and a beard playing a mandolin outdoors, a person in a blue t-shirt and glasses recording in a home studio, and another man with sunglasses playing an electric guitar on stage, surrounded by musical icons like a guitar, microphone, and musical notes.

My Journey with the mandolin

I love all things mandolin, and I think you should too! I first picked up the instrument as a 13-year-old kid in upstate South Carolina and was instantly hooked. That 8-string obsession eventually led me to get a pretty unique college degree in mandolin performance and pack up for Nashville to try and make it as a full-time player.

When the gigs didn't exactly pour in right away, I decided to start a YouTube channel and post mandolin videos instead. What started as a few uploads organically grew into Mandolin Mondays—a weekly video series that somehow ended up running for 500 consecutive weeks and featured some of my absolute favorite players.

Eventually, the touring dream actually happened. I spent years cutting my teeth on the road with bands like Mile Twelve and Cup O’Joe. I’ve had some pretty surreal, "pinch-me" moments along the way—like recording with heroes of mine like Billy Strings and Jerry Douglas, playing on Missy Raines’ Grammy-nominated album Royal Traveler, and taking home the 2017 IBMA Instrumentalist of the Year Momentum Award.

But when live music came to a dead stop in 2020, my focus naturally shifted back to where my mandolin journey began. I went all in for teaching on YouTube and building a Patreon community packed with transcriptions, play-along tracks, and breakdown lessons. That unexpected time off the road also led to something really special: teaming up with my wife, Tabitha, to start our transatlantic folk group, The Foreign Landers.

Today, I get to enjoy a happy balance of writing, touring, and teaching. To everyone who has watched a video, joined my Patreon, or supported my music over the years—thank you so much. You’ve allowed me to turn an obsession into a real career, and I couldn't be more grateful.

Happy picking!
David

“David is one of the most inspiring lights on the creative acoustic music scene today. I can’t wait to see where he takes us!”

— Julian Lage

What People Are Saying

“David Benedict is destined to be a major voice in the world of mandolin.”

— Missy Raines

“David has become one of the most innovative and sought after mandolin players and instructors around.”

— The Fretboard Journal

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