Gerard Erker

Born in '87 in St. Louis, Gerard began his musical career crying on his way to piano lessons in the 3rd grade. Luckily, in the 8th grade, Santa brought Gerard a guitar for Christmas, and he turned his frown upside-down. He soon picked up the mandolin and was playing in high school jam bands. His college years at Truman State were where he began strumming the banjo and cutting his chops on the mandolin in bluegrass and punk string bands. It wasn't until 2012 that Gerard co-founded The Mighty Pines and began touring the good 'ole United States of 'Merica, frequently visiting the Northeast, islands, Colorado, circling the Midwest and even Alaska. In recent years, Gerard has branched out to play with many bands and has shared the stage with members of Railroad Earth, Leftover Salmon, Yonder Mountain String Band, Trey Anastasio Band, Dark Star Orchestra, Greensky Bluegrass, Fruition and more. Gerard has taught music in a St. Louis elementary/middle school for several years. He teaches group and private lessons for rock & string bands, guitar, ukulele, banjo, mandolin, piano. He teaches mandolin, guitar & banjo to adults, too.