Local teen Mary Rachel Nalley is not unaccustomed to celebrity.  In her short years as a musician she has had the opportunity to play with talents such as Dailey & Vincent, Buck White, Daryle Singletary, Sam Bush, Marty Brown, Mandy Barnett, Cumberland Highlanders, David Parmley and Continental Divide, LeRoy Troy, Joe Isaccs and others.  Nalley’s instrument of choice is the fiddle but she is also at home on the mandolin, bass and guitar.

With all that she had accomplished, her mentor, Steve Day wanted to give her a special gift for her fourteenth birthday and made arrangements for her to meet some of his friends from the Grand Ole Opry.  While there on March 6, Mike Snider invited her to play for him in his dressing room and after hearing her invited her to perform with his group on stage in front of a packed house.

Nalley has won several honors for her fiddle playing including 2nd Place in the Cumberland Bluegrass Festival in 2009 for the 13 and older category and 1st Place in 2008 for the 12 & under category.  She also took 1st at Whitehorse and 2nd at Lafayette.

She is also an honor student and the co-captain of Bowling Green Junior High School’s basketball team.  Mary Rachel is currently working on her second CD and can be found along with Steve Day and other local pickers each Thursday for bluegrass jams at the KOA.