At the age of ten, Chad began playing the violin in Raleigh, North Carolina after hearing a friend of the family play at his home. Chad played classically until graduating from the University of Kentucky where he received a music scholarship. It was after graduation and relocating to East Tennessee that Chad discovered his love for Irish music.
After being invited to a house session by Tom Swadley, Chad became a member of Sigean, a traditional Irish band based in Bristol, Tennessee. Chad then began traveling to Chicago, New York, and Ireland to seek out the best musicians and began developing his own style within the Irish tradition. A move to Knoxville, Tennessee ended Chad’s tenure with Sigean, but it wasn’t long until he became a founding member of Four Leaf Peat.
Chad has become known as one of the Southeast’s finest Irish fiddlers. He has developed a distinctive voice through years of seeking out the best traditional music sessions and fiddle players, then bringing those lessons home to East Tennessee. Currently Chad splits his time between Knoxville and New York City. Chad co-hosts the bi-monthly session at Boyd's Jig & Reel and he is a regular in the New York Irish session scene where he co-hosts and plays at various sessions. Chad’s biggest influences come from the lessons he has learned through playing music in sessions all along the East Coast as well as seeking instruction and inspiration from some of his favorite fiddlers such as Tony DeMarco, Brian Conway, Liz Knowles, and Martin Hayes.