Anthony Hannigan: I started playing the mandolin when i was around 4 years old. My whole family played music. There were instruments all around the house I grew up in. My mother played guitar and sang and my father played anything with strings on it. The mandolin was the obvious choice being that my hands were to small to get around anything else. I would go to festivals and jam sessions with my family and we would go early and stay late. My father and others encouraged me to play with anyone who would play with me. I ventured into the dark night at a very young age and discoved the all night jam sessions at festivals. I am a mando-holic!