Dave Matthews Band Biographies

Dave Matthews - Lead vocal and guitarist
David John Matthews was born on January 9, 1967 in Johannesburg, South Africa. He moved to Westchester County, New York with his parents at the age of two. In the early 1970s he moved to Cambridge, England and then back to New York. His father died in 1977. Dave began playing guitar at the age of nine. His family moved back to South Africa in 1980 and then back to America to Charlottesville, Virginia in 1986. It was here where he first became part of the music community. His first professional performance was at a modern dance performance. In 1990 he came up with the idea to form his own band. In 1991 he formed The Dave Matthews Band with Boyd Tinsley, Leroi Moore, Carter Beauford, and Stefan Lessard while he was working as a bartender in Charlottesville. He has produced one solo album and has acted in two feature films. He is married to Ashley Harper and has twin daughters, Stella and Grace, born in 2001. They split their time between Seattle, Washington and Charlottesville, Virginia.

Stefan Lessard - Bassist.
Stefan Kahil Lessard was born on June 4, 1974 in Anaheim, California. Both of his parents were musicians and after moving around the country throughout his childhood, they finally settled in Charlottesville, VA in 1989. He attended the Tandem School for music. His teacher would later go on to recommend him to Dave Matthews for the band. He joined the band at the age of 16 and had to be snuck in the back door of the clubs where they played because of his age. He dropped out of high school his senior year to tour with the band and went on to get his GED.

Leroi Moore - Saxophonist.
He was born on September 7, 1961 in Durham, North Carolina. He was raised in Charlottesville, Virginia by his two parents. He began playing the alto saxophone in his junior high school band and soon began playing the tenor sax also. He played in the band throughout high school and played football as well. He attended James Madison University where he studied tenor saxophone. It was then that he also took up the soprano saxophone. Over the next ten years, Leroi played in jazz gigs around Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia. During these gigs Leroi met Carter and became friends with him. He knew Dave as a bartended and didn’t know he was musically inclined until Dave asked for Leroi’s assistance in making a demo. He carries eleven different instruments with him on tour.

Boyd Tinsley - Violinist.
Boyd was born on May 16, 1964 in Charlottesville, Virginia. He learned violin because while in middle school he accidentally signed up for the middle school orchestra class. He considered becoming a violin virtuoso but then explored different musical routes. He formed the Boyd Tinsley Band in the early 1990s, but it only lasted a couple of years. In 1992 he was asked by Dave to play “Tripping Billies” with his band for their demo tape. Boyd then joined the band and has played with them since. In 2003 he released a solo album, True Reflections.

Carter Beauford - Drummer.
Carter is a native of Charlottesville, Virginia and was born on November 2, 1957. He began drumming at the age of three and had his first professional performance at the age of nine. He joined the band Secrets with Leroi Moore and then keyboardist Butch Taylor and guitarist Tim Reynolds. They performed all around Virginia including in the bar where Dave was a bartender. Dave approached Carter and Leroi about some music he wanted to record. It was then that Carter agreed to be a part of the band and became the permanent drummer for the Dave Matthews Band.