Mayne Smith is a singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist (guitar, dobro, pedal steel), known for many years in bluegrass, country, and roots-music circles. As a performer he started in the folk music revival and expanded to bluegrass and electric country music; but his songwriting also encompasses blues, R&B, rock 'n' roll, Tex-Mex, jazz, and pop.
Besides performing at folk festivals and clubs all over North America as well as in Europe and Japan, Mayne has written songs recorded by Linda Ronstadt, David Lindley, Rosalie Sorrels, and others. He has recorded and/or performed with well-known artists including David Lindley, Geoff Muldaur, Doc Watson, Jim Kweskin, Laurie Lewis, and John Fahey.
Mayne’s 2008 CD Places I’ve Been: A Songmaker’s Retrospective showcases twenty songs he wrote between 1965 and 2007, mostly in new recordings. An earlier CD, Storm Coming, features Mayne with his longtime musical compadre, Mitch Greenhill.
Known in California for his work with non-profit music organizations (Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, Sweet’s Mill music camp), Mayne has also received national recognition for writings on various music topics.