Wildwood Valley Boys

The Wildwood Valley Boys were formed in 1992. The band name came from Wildwood Farm, which was owned by Tony Holt’s grandparents. In the beginning, the Wildwood Valley Boys could easily have been called the “Boys From Indiana Number 2,” since three of the original members were sons of Aubrey and Jerry Holt and Harley Gabbard. Tony Holt, the lead singer and guitar player was Aubrey Holt’s son; Jeff Holt, the mandolin player and eerie tenor singer was Jerry Holt’s son; and Harlan Gabbard, the resonator guitar player, was Harley Gabbard’s son. The band also included Glen “Cookie” Inman on bass, Wes Vanderpool on banjo, and Gerald Evans on fiddle. Eventually, all departed except Tony Holt, and Aubrey Holt became a member of the band. In 2015, the recording band included Tony Holt and Aubrey Holt on guitars, Jeremy Blankenship on banjo, Daniel Martin on mandolin, and Mark Poe on bass, but Aubrey had some health problems and was not traveling. Through early 2016, the band had issued at least five CDs on Rebel Records and two on Old Heritage.