Stoney Run String Band is named for Stoney Run Farm in Cecil County, Maryland.  Stoney Run Farm was the home of grandparents of the band's founder Steve Mahoney.  The band got its start around a kitchen table in an apartment in Laurel, MD in 1981.  Back then Steve played mandolin with Ray Burns on the banjo and Brian Markley on guitar.  In the early days, Stoney Run played church and community events, being a fixture of Greenbelt Day and numerous coffee houses. 

Phyllis Dodd joined the band early on, singing and playing guitar.  Through the ensuing years there were many changes.  Steve went to graduate school and became an Evangelist in the church of Christ.  These days Steve only plays with the group on rare occasions.

Phyllis's husband Paul also entered the ministry.  Phyllis moved to Farmington, DE, becoming a member of the female bluegrass band, Pink Grass.   Ray Burns' travels took him to Tennessee and Arizona, where he played with the bluegrass band Creekside.  The band stayed in contact, playing occasionally at events like Laurel Main Street Festival.

The revival of the band began in 2006, when Brian met fiddler Mimi Cukier at the Baltimore Bluegrass Meetup Group.  Mimi is an educator at Park School in Baltimore and a classical violinist in the Johns Hopkins Symphony Orchestra.   About the same time Ray Burns was "re-discovered", living in Gaithersburg, MD.  More events and new songs soon followed and the new Stoney Run sound was born. 

The latest addition to the band is Allen Hackley, aka "Hack".  Hack's musical background was primarily rock and blues based until taking up acoustic and bluegrass music in 2007.  He played in the band "Blues Disciples" in his rock days.  Fortunately for Stoney Run, Hack made the switch to bluegrass, taking up the mandolin and upright bass.

 With strong vocals and challenging instrumentals, Stoney Run plays both traditional and progressive bluegrass.  The band members especially enjoy when the audience succumbs to the urge to dance to the music's infectious rhythms.