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The members of  Grassroots have enjoyed playing and singing bluegrass music for over thirty years. The band was formed in 1973 with the line up of Kelvin Fosberry on banjo and harmony vocals, Barry Martyn on mandolin and fiddle, Terry McCarthy on lead and harmony vocals and Ron Nesbitt on bass, lead and harmony vocals.

The band was very active in the mid  1970's playing folk clubs, concerts and at Barn and Square dances with their caller, Howard Marks.  In 1977 the band's line up changed when Terry left the group due to business commitments.

Terry was replaced on guitar by Bob Jamison, an American studying in London, who immediately  fitted in with the group singing both tenor and lead vocals. The late 1970's early 80's were extremely busy for the band, with success coming in numerous country music competitions and the release of three LP's. Without doubt the high spot for the group was an invitation to represent Great Britain at the 1979 Nashville Fan Fair where they played on both the International and Bluegrass Shows and performed on stage with the father of bluegrass, Bill Monroe.

With Bob Jamison returning to America in 1982 the band was largely inactive until when in 1989 Terry McCarthy rejoined. The CD 'Full Circle' released in 1994 confirmed that Grassroots had indeed returned to their roots. On this album as with many gigs in the mid nineties the violinist Ivor Otley joined the band on fiddle. Ivor currently resides in The Republic Of Ireland. Ivor was eventually replaced on fiddle by Gina Richardson, also classically trained, who stayed with the group until the autumn of 2003. Gina is currently a member of Deep River. 

Today some 34 years after its conception the band is still going strong, playing  numerous concerts and festivals both in the U.K. and continental Europe. Their latest CD, released in January 2006, 'All Traditional' is a mixed media CD that when played on a PC can provide tablature (and music notation) for the harmony parts for prospective bluegrass vocalists.

Since October 2003, Grassroots have been joined by veteran bluegrass virtuoso  Rick Townend on fiddle, who although new to the band, brings with him a wealth of experience playing bluegrass music at the highest level.