Tag: North Carolina

The Latest Album From Steep Canyon Rangers Showcases Fresh Sounds, New Lineup

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

It’s a rather warm evening in the mountains of Western North Carolina. With a sweltering sun slowly fading behind the ancient Blue Ridge peaks, Graham Sharp takes a seat at a picnic table underneath the welcoming shade of an old tree.

He takes a sip of a craft ale and gazes out upon the festive meadows of live music and fellowship behind Highland Brewing on the outskirts of Asheville. For Sharp, it’s a rarity these days for him to be able to sit back and enjoy the city he’s called home for the last 22 years.

Co-founder and de facto leader of the Steep Canyon Rangers, Sharp is at the center of one of the most enduring and cherished acts in the realms of Americana, bluegrass, and indie-folk — whether on its own merit or backing Steve Martin and Martin Short.

The Steep Canyon Rangers at the Western North Carolina retreat where they recorded ‘Morning Shift’ with Darrell Scott producing. Photo by Joey Seawell

At 46, Sharp has spent the majority of his adult life either on the road, onstage, or in the studio. And yet, like any endlessly restless and creatively curious musician worth one’s salt, Sharp feels like he’s just getting started.

“I’m the luckiest man on earth to be able to wake up in the morning and think, ‘I want to play banjo and write songs today,’” Sharp says. “Or am I going to get on a bus and go play some shows? That’s a good feeling to be excited about what you do — 25 years from now, I’ll probably be feeling the same way.”

What started as a rag-tag bunch of green horns jamming traditional bluegrass numbers in the dorms at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has evolved into a bonafide group selling out venues coast-to-coast.

Throughout the Rangers’ history there’ve been awards and accolades, including three Grammy nominations and one win. There’s also been big stages (Red Rocks Amphitheatre, the Ryman Auditorium, Hollywood Bowl) and even bigger crowds (Bonnaroo, MerleFest, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass).

But, the core of the group resides in its unrelenting quest to dig deeper within itself to uncover another layer of sound and sonic possibility. Most recently, the band has gone through its biggest test to date, with the departure last year of founding member and arguably the gravitational center of the act, singer/guitarist Woody Platt, who decided to take a step back from the spotlight and focus on family.

“There’s a lot of things you can’t control and Woody leaving is a pretty good lesson in that fact that there’s only so much that you have influence over,” Sharp says. “And I’ve seen that with everybody [in the Rangers]. Everybody had worked hard, stepped up and defined their roles better in the band — just buckle down and push ahead.”

Fellow Western North Carolina singer-songwriter Aaron Burdett stepped into the fold to not necessarily replace Platt, but give the Rangers a new avenue to stride down, in terms of songwriting approaches and musical interpretations.

“We really tried to bring Aaron in to have another voice in there. I love having him as another writer,” Sharp says. “We both generate our own stuff and bounce ideas off of each other, where some of it feels like going back to the beginning [of the band] in the feeling.”

And with the Rangers’ latest album, Morning Shift, the sextet now finds itself at the dawn of a new, unwritten chapter of its continued trajectory as a group as sonically elusive as it is bountiful in its melodic pursuits.

“I don’t think you’d call it a chip on the shoulder,” Sharp says. “But, it feels like there’s just a drive we all have to just get better, to have more people hear what we’re doing — and we know what it takes to get there at this point.”

Hunkering down for a week in the off-the-beaten-path, unincorporated community of Bat Cave, North Carolina, the Rangers transformed a small mountain getaway into a makeshift studio. They also enlisted the help of Darrell Scott, the musical legend being tapped to produce the record.

“Darrell isn’t going to mince words — he’s pretty decisive,” Sharp says. “And Darrell spans all these [musical] worlds. He’s a monster picker and singer, and a great writer. We felt like he also comes from that bluegrass [scene], but also is outside of it, [like we are].”

 

What resulted is an album of genuine depth and stoic intent, renewal amid a reinvigorated sense of self. It’s a full-circle kind of thing, with the Steep Canyon Rangers not only reflecting on the past, but, more importantly, still chasing after that unknown horizon of artistic discovery. Our BGS interview with Sharp at Highland Brewing in Asheville continued with a conversation about the group’s changing lineup and dynamic.

It’s been a big year for you guys in a lot of ways — physically, sonically. What’s the dynamic right now? What’s kind of changed?

Graham Sharp: Well, what I’ve noticed is my default method [is] when things go weird, to just work harder.

There’s more of a round-robin feel in the band than before.

GS: Yeah. I get that. That’s what people say, that the dynamic reminds them of The Band, where there’s three or four different singers. And that was part of the deal, part of the thought process of, “Let’s take this role that’s the prototypical lead singer/guitar role and de-emphasize that.” Not totally strip it of everything, but the guitar player’s going to sing 40 or 50 percent of the songs. He’s not going to sing 80 percent of the songs. And part of that plays like a little bit of a safeguard, where if something happens with Aaron two years from now, we don’t want to be back in the same boat, where it’s like we’re losing a big hole out of the middle of the band.

Mandolinist Mike Guggino, in the studio recording the Steep Canyon Rangers’ ‘Morning Shift.’ Shot by Joey Seawell.

Like equally distributed weight now.

GS: Yeah. That’s kind of how we want it. And I think that’s what it needs to be. There’s a lot of talent in [the band] and maybe this is a chance to uncover some of it.

Not to take anything away from Woody and his contributions, but it feels more of a cohesive unit than I’ve ever seen it before.

GS: Isn’t that crazy? And that’s what people have been saying. I don’t know what that is except to say everybody’s stepping up and also making sure everybody else shines a little bit more.

I also wonder if that plays into more camaraderie in the band.

GS: Maybe. I mean, the band is a brotherhood. You couldn’t have more camaraderie than we have. But, that said, if people are feeling like their talents aren’t being put into full use – there’s one thing about being great friends and being brothers, but also on some kind of subconscious level, if you feel like there’s stuff that’s not being utilized, then maybe there’s something else you should be doing, you know?

And there’s maybe a reaffirming of gratitude for how far you guys have come.

GS: No doubt, man. That’s definitely one of the overwhelming things that has come out of this [latest chapter], is just gratitude to still be doing it — just keep going and keep doing it. [With Morning Shift], this record feels like a jumping off point.

The album also reinforces that elusive nature that’s always resided in the Rangers, where the last thing you ever want to be is pigeonholed, musically.

GS: Yeah. But, I love to play the banjo, so I don’t want to grow away from that. And [sometimes] I feel like my writing doesn’t always lend itself to the banjo. So, a lot of my stuff on the banjo ends up being able to figure out how you play to this weird song that doesn’t really call for banjo like a bluegrass song would — that’s part of the fun of [songwriting].

Aaron has now been in the band for a year. What’s surprised you the most about what he’s brought to the Rangers?

GS: We knew he was a great singer when we hired him, so that didn’t come as a surprise. When he sent us his demos, we knew this was our guy. But, the biggest surprise has been just how far apart our musical worlds are. He’s a very different musician than anybody we’ve had in the band. There’s things that he does in his own rhythm. He just has a different touch on the rhythm guitar.

Graham Sharp of the Steep Canyon Rangers recording ‘Morning Shift’ in studio. Photo by Joey Seawell.

There’s definitely a feeling of reinvigoration within the band. Almost 25 years into the Rangers, the band is still at the top of its game. But, playing devil’s advocate, I think there’s now other mountains you can see that you may want to climb?

GS: I think you’re right. I mean, as a band, you only have one introduction to the world. Maybe we were lucky because we got two, the other with Steve Martin. But, right now, it feels more like a collective up onstage. And I think that’s invaluable. Everybody is putting in the work. For example, I’ve always played banjo for a couple hours a day. But, maybe now, I play it for three hours a day. You’re just stepping things up, bringing things up a notch.

What really sticks out when you look back at the early years of the band, this handful of college kids learning to play bluegrass music?

GS: It was 1999. Somewhere in my junior or senior in college. It was myself, [former bassist] Charles [Humphrey] and Woody. Then, [mandolinist] Mike [Guggino] showed up later because he was Woody’s friend from Brevard, [North Carolina]. There was no ambition at the time. The ambition was really, “Let’s learn to play [bluegrass] so it sounds like it does on these records.”

New Grass Revival. [Russell Moore and] IIIrd Tyme Out. We never got to where we sounded like any of those bands. We could never sound like Lonesome River Band. But, take a little bit of this, take a little bit of that and go play onstage at bluegrass festivals. Go to Sears and get some clothes that match. And [a lot of the bluegrass] legends were still around and playing those festivals. Earl [Scruggs] was still around. John Hartford. Jimmy Martin. You know, when you’re young and rising, you’ve got all the momentum, all the buzz. And when you’re established and older, it’s different. Right now, we’re in this in-between period where it’s not newer and it’s not legacy. But, we’re not Billy Strings or Molly Tuttle, either. I still just love going out [there onstage] and proving it every single time — that feeling of doing what it takes to be our best each night.

All photos: Joey Seawell

Artist of the Month: Folk Hero Alice Gerrard Is Unafraid to Be a Real Person

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

(Editor’s Note: Fiddler, songwriter, and creator Libby Rodenbough writes this personal essay on her friendship with and admiration for BGS Artist of the Month, Alice Gerrard, accompanied by her original photos taken for Gerrard’s new album, Sun to Sun.)

I remember first hearing Ola Belle Reed’s “Undone in Sorrow” when I was 19 or 20. I felt like a portal had been opened unto a world that had existed around me my whole life, unseen and unheard. I grew up in North Carolina going to visit my mom’s family in Madison County, along the Blue Ridge, where any of the graveyards on the mountain sides with their little mounds of clay outside my backseat window might have been the one from Ola Belle’s song.

That portal didn’t open for me in the mountains of North Carolina, though – it was in Chicago, at the Old Town School of Folk Music, an institution that had come out of the ‘50s folk revival. I was big on Pete Seeger and John Prine at that time in my life, and had found out my dad had a cousin with a spare room in Chicago, so I went on a little pilgrimage during a recess from college.

It was there that I learned my first old time fiddle tunes, belting the refrain “down in North Carolina” from “Waterbound” at the school’s open jam while the Chicago winter dumped three feet of snow outside. It was there I first learned the rudiments – very rude in my case – of clawhammer banjo. It was also there that I first heard a left hook of a song called “A Few Old Memories” by Hazel Dickens, which appeared on her 1973 duo record with Alice Gerrard, Hazel & Alice.

I went home from Chicago with new eyes and ears. Places I’d known forever became newly populated with epic figures, recast in the light of 200-year-old narratives. My first semester back in school, I was in an introductory folklore course taught by Mike Taylor (of Hiss Golden Messenger) and he started talking about his friend Alice Gerrard, who lived a town over in Durham. I was fairly well tangled up in time and place at that point – even the deceased people I’d been learning about were brand new to me – so I had to blink a few times to digest that she was the same person singing harmony on “A Few Old Memories.”

Today, 10-ish years later, I sit with Alice in preparation for writing this piece and she tells me about driving Ola Belle Reed in her Dodge van on tours through the South in the late ‘60s. She’s my oldest friend (nearly 90), and all competition lags behind her years pretty pathetically. She also makes a lot of the people I talk to seem boring. We’re in the same business: We sing songs and play shows and make records. She’s been doing it a lot longer, and I think she knows about five times as many songs.

Hanging out with Alice helps me understand why she wanted to be friends with people like Elizabeth Cotten and Luther Davis, who were elderly when she met them. She heard the way they played and sang and had to talk to them about their lives. “They knew exactly who they were,” she says. For a young person who had moved across the country from Oregon to Washington, D.C., without maintaining much contact with home, dropped out of college, and had four children, that self-knowledge was aspirational. Though their rootedness in their communities was part of what drew her to them, she didn’t think of them as avatars of bygone primitive ways of life, or as characters in a play – they were people. Elizabeth Cotten was somewhat guarded, but over years traveling and playing together, she told Alice about indignities she had suffered as a domestic worker and as a Black female folk performer, and about subtle acts of defiance she had worked into both vocations. Luther Davis talked about how lonely it was to get old and run out of witnesses to your own life.

Alice is likewise unafraid of being a person. She’ll tell you straightforwardly that she was unprepared to be a mother, that it was essentially impossible to pursue a music career – which was something she knew she wanted for herself – and still give adequate time to her kids. We commiserate about music industry bullshit and engage in light shit-talking about the idea of showmanship.

She’s usually wearing one of her collection of t-shirts that pertain to her dog Polly’s agility training facility (“Fast and Furryous”). This past March, when I took these photos of her to use for promotion of her new album, Sun to Sun, we went through her closet together and dug out some gems, including a bedazzled commemorative t-shirt from Obama’s inauguration.

I have no training in photography – I shoot film because I enjoy the feeling of not really knowing how it works. We went to Duke Gardens in Durham, where we both live, on a week when the cherry trees had popcorned into glory. Alice looks radiant in the halo of those glowing blooms. But I also love the photos where she’s at home, standing in front of the brick retaining wall around her front yard, before she realized she still had her Apple Watch on. The sky was so blue that day, her white hair incandescent. She looks like she knows something you don’t, but in a warm way, like she knows you’ll get it eventually.

Alice is unafraid to treat a song like it can handle a little handling. She knows that songs are alive and she’s interested in being a part of their lives, not their memorialization. She smiles talking about how, in an old John Cohen film, the Madison County ballad singer Dillard Chandler starts a song in a key around here (she holds her hand at her waistline) and ends it here (she raises her hand up level with her temple). She’s delighted by the particularity of the human touch. She prefers singing voices with a bit of weirdness over purely pretty ones. Talking about Carter Stanley’s high whine, she says, “Whatever was eating on him from the inside, it was showing up in the way he sang. Nina Simone, the same way.” She tells me what a struggle it is to teach that kind of feeling to people accustomed to singing prettily. “If you’re trying to get somebody out of the soft, breathy voice, you say, ‘Look, your kid is running out into the street and you have to call your kid back.’ You don’t say,” — she coos — “‘Heyyyyy Brian, get back here.’ You say, ‘BRIAN! GET BACK HERE!’”

Whenever I’ve played music with her, Alice seems to lean into what people at the Old Town School liked – actually, loved – to call “the folk process;” she lets arrangements evolve as the spirit of the universe sees fit. I’m lucky she’s not a stickler for tradition, even traditions she could write encyclopedias about, because my fiddling style is distinctly unmoored. I was a half-rate Suzuki classical violin student growing up and then at the Old Town School I learned how to accompany folk singers on songs with three or fewer chords. I came home and started going to the old-time jam at Nightlight Bar & Club in Chapel Hill, where the jam leaders were American Studies PhD candidates who also grew up learning fiddle tunes from their hometown octogenarians. Some of my friends started a band called Mipso that was flirtatious with bluegrass and asked me to join, but I told them up front I didn’t know any licks. (They didn’t seem bothered by that.) I’ve since learned a few licks, and I would rather play an old time tune any day of the week than do almost anything else, but I never could sit still long enough to do what Alice calls “holding the line” — keeping and caring for the tradition.

I’m indebted to, and grateful in my heart for, people who do that work. I may roll my eyes at gatekeeping, but it’s more than wide-eyed would-be fiddle players at the gate; it’s the whole monster of monolithic, capitalist cultural imperialism, chomping down on everything small or strange. Songs can, and do, disappear, like cultures and forests, and not just by inertia but by clear-cutting. A lot of days I feel self-conscious about whatever it is I’m doing instead of holding that line. When I listen to Alice tell stories about the many singers and players she’s known over the years, though, I remind myself that they each have a distinct relationship with tradition – and with what it means to be an artist.

For a long time there’s been a divide, rhetorical and sometimes actual, between “the folk” and “the folkies,” which maybe means country people versus city people, or maybe people who grew up in a given musical tradition versus those who came to it later. Alice and I both fall into the latter category, though she’s had considerably sharper focus since her initiation. I’d rather replay a 10-second clip of a Mark O’Connor fiddle solo at one-quarter speed forty-seven times in a row than try to examine that dichotomy in any more detail at this moment, but I did spend a lot of my undergraduate days thinking about authenticity and who’s entitled to do what with old songs. Alice has often found herself among people who look at it from an academic angle – her ex-husband, Mike Seeger, came from a folklorist family – but her view remains that the compulsion to define and categorize is basically academia trying to justify itself. I don’t take that as bitter or glib, I just think she hasn’t found it necessary, in her personal relationship with the music she loves, to try to determine who gets to claim it. Or maybe, for Alice, the claim is in the singing. Talking about what makes a voice “authentic” (a word that sends a chill down my spine), she paraphrases Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart from 1967 in his definition of pornography: “I know it when I see it.”

As we clink the ice around our $7 decaf specialty iced lattes, Alice tells me about a song she’d just heard, a haunting falsetto voice with nylon string guitar, in the opening scene of Pedro Almodóvar’s new short film, Strange Way of Life. After some Google sleuthing, she identified it as a recording by the Brazilian artist Caetano Veloso (in fact, the movie is named for it – “Estranha Forma de Vida.”) She’s head over heels for this song, itching to go home and dig into Veloso’s catalog. If they ever meet, I know she will have great questions for him, the type of questions that make a person believe songs must do real work in this world.

I ask her if she thinks of her music as having “a purpose.” “Not really,” she says. But she goes on, “I want people to hear what I hear in this music.”

In my view, that’s an altruistic goal, because it’s clear that whatever it is Alice hears in the music, it gives her life its very marrow. I admire the decades she has devoted to learning and documenting traditional music, but what I aspire to most is the way she still loves a song — viscerally, instinctively, with gusto. That’s what makes a line worth holding.

“There was something about the music, the quality of the voices,” she says, recalling first hearing Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music. “There’s so much beauty in it, it’s like, God, yeah.”

I had that “yeah” moment when I heard “Undone in Sorrow” and “A Few Old Memories” – and now, Sun to Sun. I hope to be saying “yeah” like that about songs for the rest of my life.

All photos: Libby Rodenbough

LISTEN: Carley Arrowood, “Moondancer”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Carley Arrowood
Hometown: Newton, North Carolina
Song: “Moondancer”
Release Date: October 27, 2023
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “‘Moondancer’ tells the story of a Cherokee girl who sneaks out at night and is obsessed with capturing a wild white horse. I started writing it one evening several years ago after looking for arrowheads in my Mamaw’s garden, ironically around this time of year. As that chilly breeze blew, the line, ‘Her longing echoes on the breeze, but it never finds relief,’ just took root in my mind, and the girl’s repetitious, hopeless calling is what shaped the chorus and the rest of the tune. Eventually she learns to just love the horse she names from afar, but the deep longing in her heart still lingers as she realizes Moondancer can never be hers. I’m so grateful to Daniel, Nick, Tabitha, Jeff, and Tony for lending their talents, and to Jim and Clay for producing and mixing what has become one of my favorite tunes on my upcoming record.” – Carley Arrowood

Track Credits:

Carley Arrowood – fiddle, vocal
Daniel Thrailkill – acoustic guitar
Jeff Partin – acoustic bass, Dobro
Nick Dumas – mandolin
Tony Creasman – drums
Tabitha Benedict – banjo

Photo Credit: Laci Mack Photography

WATCH: Sully Bright, “Appalachia” (Live in Appalachia Video Series)

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Sully Bright
Hometown: Forest City, North Carolina; currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Appalachia”
Album: Darling, Wake Up
Release Date: October 13, 2023

(Editor’s Note: Over six weeks, singer-songwriter Sully Bright will premiere a series of four live performance videos shot in the mountains of North Carolina. Watch each installment every other week right here on BGS.)

In Their Words: “I got the idea for the song ‘Appalachia’ on my drive back home to North Carolina from Nashville. Driving the Blue Ridge Mountains is one of my favorite things to do, especially in the fall. The North Carolina mountains are my favorite place in the world; they are home to me. That’s what I wrote this song about: ‘Home is what you make of it, and darling you’re mine.’

“This is one of my favorite videos we captured in North Carolina. We recorded it on a river near Roan Mountain. There couldn’t be a better place to sing the song than in a cold mountain river in Appalachia. I hope you enjoy the video and check back for the next one in two weeks.” – Sully Bright

Photo & Video Credit: Seth and Jenna Herlich, Wonderfilmco

The Travis Book Happy Hour: Andy Falco (Infamous Stringdusters)

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

Full disclosure; I’ve played music and stood closer to Andy Falco onstage more than anyone over the last 15 years, maybe ever. As the guitarist for our band The Infamous Stringdusters, he continues to redefine acoustic guitar, blending bluegrass, blues, funk, and rock & roll in a style that defines the sound of the Dusters. His guitar is the most important part of the band. In 2021 he released a solo record, Will of the Way, and in 2023 we released the first volume of our tribute to Jerry Garcia on Americana Vibes. Kind, humorous, focused, and grateful, Andy Falco is a living legend and an absolute treasure.

LISTEN: APPLE • SPOTIFY • STITCHER • AMAZON • MP3

This episode was recorded live at The Grey Eagle in Asheville, North Carolina, on August 25, 2021. Huge thanks to Andy Falco.

Timestamps:

0:06 – Soundbyte
0:40 – Introduction
1:56 – “The Thrill Is Gone” / Bill Introduction
3:14 – “Rise Sun”
6:41 – “All the Same”
13:16 – Interview
35:36 – “Holy Rover”
40:24 – “Wings Upon Your Feet”
44:18 – Interview
53:10 – “Birdsong”
1:03:32 – “Stones Unturned”
1:08:19 – Outro

Editor’s note: The Travis Book Happy Hour is hosted by Travis Book of the GRAMMY Award-winning band, The Infamous Stringdusters. The show’s focus is musical collaboration and conversation around matters of being. The podcast is the best of the interview and music from the live show recorded in Asheville and Brevard, North Carolina.

The Travis Book Happy Hour Podcast is brought to you by Thompson Guitars and is presented by Americana Vibes and The Bluegrass Situation as part of the BGS Podcast Network. You can find the Travis Book Happy Hour on Instagram and Facebook and online at thetravisbookhappyhour.com.

Photo Credit: George Trent Grogan

The Travis Book Happy Hour: Jim Lauderdale

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

I’ve shared the stage with Jim Lauderdale many times over the years and have always enjoyed his approach and attitude. Funny, self-effacing, eager to entertain, Jim’s a gem and the most prolific songwriter and recording artist I know. I was honored that he agreed to join me for the happy hour and I couldn’t wait to edit this show and release it.

LISTEN: APPLE • SPOTIFY • STITCHER • AMAZON • MP3

This episode was recorded live at The Grey Eagle in Asheville, North Carolina on November 30th, 2022. Huge thanks to Jim Lauderdale, Mike Ashworth, and Matt Smith.

Timestamps:

00:06 – Soundbyte
00:33 – Introduction
02:11 – “Rise Sun”
05:54 – Introducing Jim Lauderdale
07:33 – Interview 1
23:08 – “Patchwork River”
28:02 – “Planet of Love”
32:58 – Introducing “Friends Again”
35:28 – “Friends Again”
38:05 – Interview 2
51:20 – “The King of Broken Hearts”
54:30 – Introducing “The Opportunity to Help Somebody Through It”
56:35 – “The Opportunity to Help Somebody Through It”
1:02:22 – “That Kind of Life (That Kind of Day)”
1:06:10 – Outro

Editor’s note: The Travis Book Happy Hour is hosted by Travis Book of the GRAMMY Award-winning band, The Infamous Stringdusters. The show’s focus is musical collaboration and conversation around matters of being. The podcast is the best of the interview and music from the live show recorded in Asheville and Brevard, North Carolina.

The Travis Book Happy Hour Podcast is brought to you by Thompson Guitars and is presented by Americana Vibes and The Bluegrass Situation as part of the BGS Podcast Network. You can find the Travis Book Happy Hour on Instagram and Facebook and online at thetravisbookhappyhour.com.

Photo Credit: Scott Simontacchi

BGS Receives IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

(Editor’s Note: On Thursday, September 28, 2023, BGS contributor, musician, songwriter, and bluegrass industry leader Jon Weisberger presented BGS with IBMA’s Distinguished Achievement Award at the organization’s annual business conference. Below, enjoy Weisberger’s award presentation speech, adapted for print, and photos from the Industry Awards luncheon.)

The International Bluegrass Music Association’s Distinguished Achievement Award was created as the organization’s first honor, just a year after its 1985 founding. Among the first recipients were Bill Monroe, gospel songwriter Albert E. Brumley, and (now-BGS contributor) Neil V. Rosenberg.

After 1991, when the Hall of Honor (now the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame) was established, the DAA became a way to recognize a variety of accomplishments — a lifetime of achievement for many recipients, but also activities taking place in more compressed timespans, as when the Coen Brothers and T Bone Burnett were recipients in 2001 for the singular act of creating the film, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and the accompanying soundtrack album. And while most of the recipients are people, some are entities, like WSM’s Grand Ole Opry (2000), the Station Inn (2003), and Bluegrass Unlimited magazine (2016).

Country Gongbang, of South Korea, perform during the IBMA Industry Awards Luncheon. (Photo by Rob Laughter)

Either way, the award criteria direct the selection committee to consider those who “have fostered bluegrass music’s image with developments that will broaden the music’s recognition and accessibility.” Further, the award criteria state, “Their contributions should be unique given the relative period of time in which they were made and should embody the spirit of one who pioneers or opens new possibilities for the music.” These are descriptions that fit the Bluegrass Situation perfectly.

Having celebrated its 10th anniversary just last year, this site contains an extensive amount of material that recalls a multitude of highlights from that first decade. So rather than recount them, I chose, when presenting the award—an invitation for which I’m deeply grateful — to recognize what Ed Helms, Amy Reitnouer Jacobs, their dedicated staff and many contributors have done to broaden the music’s recognition and accessibility and open new possibilities for the music is to look at why these things are important and how they have met the challenge.

For more than 50 years, bluegrass music has been dependent, for the renewal of its audiences and of its musicians, on exposure beyond its cloistered garden. From The Beverly Hillbillies through the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Circle album through the mainstream success of Ricky Skaggs and Alison Krauss to O Brother and, more recently, artists like Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings, our music has needed not only community-building institutions that cater to those already familiar with it, but a plethora of vehicles that expose new audiences to this music.

BGS executive director Amy Reitnouer Jacobs reacts to Jon Weisberger’s DAA presentation. Justin Hiltner, managing editor, looks on. (Photo by Willa Stein)

This is how many people, including many in the IBMA, first became aware of bluegrass, and in the past decade, no one has done more to introduce this music to new audiences than the Bluegrass Situation. By covering the broad range of roots music under its “bluegrass” rubric, and by insisting on presenting the full range of bluegrass music and musicians in all their diversity, the Sitch has invited hundreds of thousands into the fold — and the same is true of the events the Bluegrass Situation has organized and sponsored.

Indeed, one of the Sitch’s distinctive contributions has been its dual role as a chronicler of the broad array of bluegrass and related musical artists and as a presenter, bringing the artists and the music they make directly to audiences. Especially through its curated stages at major music festivals, the Bluegrass Situation has introduced thousands — tens of thousands by now — to artists like bluegrass Hall of Famers Ricky Skaggs, Del McCoury, and Sam Bush.

Amy Reitnouer Jacobs speaks to the Industry Awards Luncheon audience. (Photo by Dan Schram)

In this way, the Sitch has spent more than a decade devoted both to the important work of bringing a wide variety of roots music to audiences across the country and around the world, and to the important work of bringing the whole array of bluegrass artists, from Larry Sparks, Junior Sisk, Michael Cleveland, and High Fidelity to the Infamous Stringdusters, Leftover Salmon, Molly Tuttle, and Billy Strings to the attention of those attracted to the Sitch’s website and events by its coverage and presentation of all the other roots music artists within their purview. So, someone who visits the site to read an Allison Russell feature has an opportunity to learn about Lynn Morris, while another who attends the Bourbon & Beyond festival to see The Black Keys might have their ear caught by the sound of Dan Tyminski or The Cleverlys performing on the Sitch’s curated stage.

These are the kinds of connections — and the kind of day in, day out, year in and year out work — that, in the words of the Distinguished Achievement Award criteria, “broaden the music’s recognition and accessibility.” These are the ways in which bluegrass is able to draw in new generations of fans — and new generations of musicians and industry activists, too. For more than 10 years, now, Ed Helms, Amy Reitnouer Jacobs and the Bluegrass Situation have been doing the work, and all of us in the bluegrass community have benefitted from their efforts. It gave me great pleasure to present them with this award.

L to R: Justin Hiltner, Amy Reitnouer Jacobs, Jon Weisberger at the 2023 IBMA Industry Awards Luncheon. (Photo by Willa Stein)

Photos by Rob Laughter, Dan Schram, and Willa Stein as noted; Lead image of Hiltner, Reitnouer Jacobs, and Weisberger by Dan Schram; All photos courtesy of IBMA.

One to Watch: Viv & Riley Are Much More Than Just Old-Time or Americana

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Comprised of singer-songwriters and instrumentalists Vivian Leva and Riley Calcagno, Viv & Riley are an up-and-coming musical duo that defy definition. Their new album, Imaginary People, is a masterful blend that weaves together their shared reverence for traditional Appalachian music alongside indie-folk, pop-leaning adornments. The result is an emotionally potent 10-track album that covers a vibrant range of personal and universal truths — from the bittersweet nostalgia of visiting a beloved childhood hideaway decades later, to the poignant curiosities that accompany reckoning with climate grief.

Based out of the dynamic music scene in Durham, North Carolina, this duo is currently on tour across North America. With their insightful explorations of the past and creative probings of the future, Viv & Riley uncover rich and complicated explorations of what it means to be alive in this precise moment.

So how did the two of you first start making music together?

Vivian Leva: Well, we first started making music together when we first met in 2016, the summer after we both graduated high school. I grew up in Lexington, Virginia, and Riley grew up in Seattle, Washington, and we just happened to meet at a camp in Port Townsend, Washington. It’s one of those camps that has weeks back to back — there was a vocal week that I was teaching with my mom, and then Riley came to teach fiddle the following week. We happened to overlap by a few days, and Riley was there with his band The Onlies. The first night we met, we played music together all night! After that, I joined the band, and we also started playing together as a duo and writing songs.

Riley Calcagno: The origin of our sort of band, our duo, came later that year, in the fall. We had been communicating and texting some music back and forth, and then Viv invited me down to Asheville to play a gig with her and her dad. I was a fan of her dad, James Leva, for his fiddle and singing, so we did that gig. But we thought it’d be also fun to try out some duo material while we were down in the same place, even though we had never played songs just the two of us. We emailed a venue in Asheville called Isis Music Hall, which was a prominent venue there at the time. Somehow they slotted us in, on a Wednesday night, into this big hall that they had — 200-person capacity, maybe bigger. We had never played music together going into that, but we put together some material and we enlisted some friends to play with us. It was a bold move! Talk about faking it until you make it. Only about 15 people came out to the show, and I’m sure it sounded terrible. But it was fun!

That sounds amazing. So how would you describe your musical chemistry? What is it like playing together?

VL: ​​Well, I think our initial musical chemistry initially came from our shared background in old time music and traditional music. That first night that we met, we played a lot of fiddle tunes, old music, and traditional songs. So it kind of began from a place of excitement about being exactly the same age, having never before met, and somehow both being raised around this same music that we have a shared respect and love for. So that was the initial spark of actually finding another young person who’s into the same niche genre and community. But since then it’s totally stretched into other realms. We are both so open to other kinds of music, and we have very similar tastes and aesthetics. It’s very easy to create music together because we come to it from a similar place.

RC: One of our dynamics in making music together has also been sharing our individual strengths with the other person. When we first started playing together, I couldn’t really sing harmony or find a harmony part. Vivian was very patient with me and helped me learn, and I still feel like I’m getting better all the time. That’s exciting!

VL: I just play guitar, and Riley plays every other instrument. He’s a great fiddler, guitar player, banjo player, mandolin player— instrumentally he brings so much to the table. And I feel I bring a lot of singing and songwriting-focused material to the table. We stretch each other, fill in the gaps for each other, and learn from each other.

What a beautiful thing! So what do you each feel like the biggest difference in your respective musicianships is?

RC: Viv is a very natural musician. She grew up traveling around with her parents as they toured, sitting in on harmonica at her dad’s gigs when she was only three or four. I also was born and raised around music, but it was a bit more formalized, whereas Viv’s music just comes very naturally and it’s not forced in any way. She does what she does super well and consistently and steadily, and I’m a bit more erratic. I take chances and get obsessed with things and take big leaps that sometimes fall flat. Every time she steps on stage, Viv can knock out a great performance, and I feel more streaky.

VL: But he tries lots of different things! And like he mentioned, Riley has a more formal background in music. He took lessons, he learned how to read music, he knows music theory, he did classical violin. So I think a big difference is that he technically knows what’s going on, whereas I don’t have the language or skills that he has. I’m definitely more intuition based than technically based.

You really balance each other out! So your new album, Imaginary People, just came out on September 15, and I’m wondering how your songwriting, as it appears on this album, has shifted since you first began as a duo.

RC: Well, in the past, before we started writing music for this record, we were living in different places so it was a lot of collaboration from afar. A lot of the songs on our last record came from texting voice memos back and forth. And you know, it’s not utterly different to work on them in person, but some of these new songs came out playing them together in the moment.

VL: Another big difference is Riley has started writing way more. So I think there’s more of an equal voicing on this record than in the past. There’s more of his perspective in it. And I think now that we’re living in the same place it’s also allowed us to write about a more diverse range of things. We’ve written a lot of intense emotional, romantic songs in the past, but in this recent past couple of years, we’re more interested in other things, like our shared experiences about other parts of life.

RC: And it’s also partly stylistic. Our last record was pretty much a country record. During that time, I was listening to a lot of classic country music, and this time we were listening to a wider range of things. Having a broader array of influences definitely helped us push the narrative forward.

What are you each proudest of on the album?

VL: I think what I am most proud of isn’t a specific track or anything — mostly it’s this feeling that I unlocked something. I think I let go of some fears in the process of making this record. I felt more free to just say yes to trying new things and became less concerned with things like what genre it was going to be considered, or if the people who liked our last record would like this record… and so on. I stopped worrying about categories like, “This doesn’t sound traditional enough,” or “This isn’t country enough,” or “That’s too rocker or indie.” Instead, I was able to adopt the mentality of “Hmm, that sounds interesting, let’s try and just do what feels fun!” I think I’m most proud that I was able to do that. It felt amazing to take things a little lighter and to roll with ideas that felt a little outside of the mold.

RC: When you start making music, being young musicians, you get immediately labeled. It’s not something that I think either of us necessarily anticipated, but when that first record got classified, people said it was Appalachian and classic country. And then the next one was classic country and Americana. Like “Hits-the-Spot Americana,” whatever that means. And I think there’s an urge for musicians, when you get labeled as something, to keep reproducing it. There’s this toothlessness to the modern Americana music label— it’s the creation of music that is literally meant to sound like other music under a category. I don’t have a problem with genre or specifications, I think it’s oftentimes useful, but it’s [useful] when you’re trying to reproduce sounds so that you can cater to an audience, it’s like you’re trying to sell something in a market that’s already been created. I think that can be the “dampification” of art. And while I think there’s been so many amazing things created within the Americana industry, I also think it often leads to less creativity and less interesting music.

Coming out of our last record, we had some buzz in the Americana world, and it would have been easy for us to make another “Hits-the-Spot Americana” record. But I don’t think that we did that, and I feel proud of that. Like Viv was saying, we didn’t just do what we were supposed to do. You know, there’s synthesizers, but there’s also a fiddle track, and personally, I think it all works together. So maybe if you’re an Americana devotee, you’re not going to love this album, but that’s okay with me. I think there’s a power in making an album that the machine doesn’t really know what to do with. The machine can make up albums and spit them out, but I feel proud that this one isn’t something that can just be spit out because of how we combine traditional and non-traditional music. For example, there were super organic moments where we all stood around one mic and sang together, coupled with other moments where we had things locked in, produced, and added synths because a particular song called for it. Making those two things coexist in the same ecosystem was definitely a challenge, but listening to the record, I think it all makes sense together.

It’s an album full of teeth! Now, before we wrap up, I have to ask: you’re our One to Watch, but who are you watching right now? Any creatives, musical artists, or otherwise that are inspiring you right now?

RC: One is our neighbor in Durham, North Carolina, Alice Gerrard. She’s almost 90, and she’s putting out a record on this indie label from the area called Sleepy Cat. She’s collaborating with a bunch of young people and their art for the record, like making these amazing videos. It’s a really cool thing! People around here are really conscious and thoughtful about aesthetics and sound and ethos. Everything is done with integrity, so it’s a cool scene around here in that way. Alice makes amazing music, I’m really excited for her upcoming record — I think we’ll all be glued to it once it comes out. Another one is our friend who we wrote two songs with on our previous record, “Love and Chains” and “Time Is Everything”— often people’s favorite songs of ours. I just had the honor of producing his upcoming record under his band’s name, Preacher & Daisy. I love the music, so I definitely want to give them a bump! The fun thing is that all this music is sourced locally from the Durham, North Carolina area, where we’re based.

VL: Some folks I’m enjoying listening to right now, not that they’re not already being watched, are: KC Jones, Canary Room, Dori Freeman, Alexa Rose.

Photo Credit: Libby Rodenbough

WATCH: Mark & Maggie O’Connor, “All We Will Be”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Mark & Maggie O’Connor
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Song: “All We Will Be”
Release Date: September 30, 2023
Label: ONErpm/OMAC Records

In Their Words: “‘All We Will Be’ is one of our new vocal songs where we reach for a more contemplative place in words and music. There is such mystery and intrigue with the lyrics, by my co-writer Joe Henry, and the story-telling vocal performance by Maggie, that it was interesting for me to create an expanded instrumental soundscape for it. The musical qualities move from plaintive Americana guitar strums to a jazz-rock acoustic fusion crescendo that showcases Maggie’s majestic violin solo. The powerful and intuitive bass and drums on this song – by Dennis Crouch and John Gardner – help to elevate this idea. Our journey here is about testing faith and rediscovering it through love and music.

“In scouting locations for the music video, it was Maggie that suggested the piece be filmed adjacent to the stillness and reflection of our North Carolina lake. On the day of filming, it poured down during the day leaving us a sense of renewal in the forest when things cleared off to do the shoot. The storm also left a painting in the sky — one of those colorful Southern sunsets over the water that had us dancing to the music for the video on the shoreline. I had my 1865 Martin out there on the edge of the swampy part of the lake conveying timelessness through the bending of the strings like ripples in the water. With inspiration from the lyric, ‘Back into trees, like all that we are,’ the low setting sun gave us the shadow effect essential to combine Maggie’s violin and my viola that accompanies her, returning us into the roots of trees on the forest floor. It was joyful to create this video with my wife Maggie, and even more so to have my son Forrest handling the great camera work and the directing of our music video.” – Mark O’Connor

Track Credits: Written by Joe Henry and Mark O’Connor

Maggie O’Connor – vocals, violin, cello
Mark O’Connor – vocals, guitar, mandolin, mandocello, violin, viola
Dennis Crouch – upright bass
John Gardner – drums
Tracking Engineer – Neal Cappellino
Overdubs and Mixing Engineer – Mark O’Connor
Mastering Engineer – Dave Harris at Studio B Mastering, Charlotte, NC
Recorded at Sound Emporium Studio A, Nashville, TN
Overdubs at Hometone Studio

Photo Credit: David Hume Kennerly
Video Credit: Filmed and directed by Forrest O’Connor

PREVIEW: IBMA’s World of Bluegrass, This Week in Raleigh

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

The biggest week in bluegrass has arrived. The International Bluegrass Music Association’s annual business conference and festival begins tomorrow, September 26, and continues through Saturday, September 30, in Raleigh, North Carolina. It’s the 10th year the event has been hosted in the music-rich state of North Carolina.

From Tuesday to Thursday, industry professionals, artists, musicians, songwriters, lawyers and more will participate in panels and professional development during Wide Open Bluegrass, the conference portion of the week’s programming. Highlights will include a keynote address by Matt Glaser of Berklee College of Music (Tuesday), the Momentum Awards Luncheon (Wednesday) and Industry Awards Luncheon (Thursday) — plus a BGS-presented panel on podcasts, An Essential Guide To Podcasting (Wednesday), which will be moderated by Keith Billik of Picky Fingers and will feature Basic Folk hosts Cindy Howes and Lizzie No, among others. During the evenings, when conference events have concluded, attendees and fans will enjoy the Bluegrass Ramble, IBMA’s roster of more than thirty showcasing acts and bands at venues peppered throughout downtown Raleigh.

On Thursday evening, it’s the so-called “Bluegrass Prom,” the 34th Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards, held at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts just steps away from the conference center and host hotel. Hosted by Ketch Secor and Molly Tuttle, the biggest night of the biggest week in bluegrass will see artists and bands like Billy Strings, Sister Sadie, Tray Wellington, Del McCoury Band and many more vie for awards like Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, Best New Artist and beyond. The Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum will also induct three new members during the ceremony, mandolinist Sam Bush, innovator and stylist David Grisman and the legendary and chart-topping Wilma Lee Cooper.

The awards show marks the week’s transition from conference to festival, as Bluegrass Live! takes over the Red Hat Amphitheater and all of downtown Raleigh on Friday and Saturday. On the main stage, enjoy headliners like Mighty Poplar, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, AJ Lee & Blue Summit, Missy Raines & Allegheny and an all-star banjo collaboration of Tray Wellington, Jake Blount and Kaïa Kater. Vendors, artisans, food trucks and more will line the streets of downtown, where dozens more bands will perform for the second-largest bluegrass festival audience in the world – nearly 200,000 bluegrass and roots music fans will make Raleigh their destination this weekend.

Below, find our short list of events, bands, panels, showcases, presentations and shows not-to-be-missed at IBMA’s World of Bluegrass and Bluegrass Live!

Panels & Conference Events

The World of Bluegrass business conference gets going bright and early tomorrow morning, with a New Attendee Orientation at Raleigh Convention Center room 304 at 9 a.m. Once you have the lay of the land, check out these conference programs and panels throughout the week. Don’t miss your IBMA professional member constituency meeting – they’re held throughout the week for the various constituencies – and don’t miss the exhibit hall, full of vendors, organizations, festivals and more. It opens Wednesday at 1 p.m.

IBMA KEYNOTE ADDRESS & RECEPTION BY MATT GLASER
TUESDAY 4PM – 5:30PM | RCC BALLROOM

Matt Glaser, who served as chair of Berklee College of Music’s String Department for 28 years and has pioneered its American Roots Music Program, will give a “dynamic” presentation for this year’s keynote entitled, Hidden Threads: Bluegrass in the American Musical Tapestry.” Glaser will explore the many styles, genres and formats that influenced and informed the creation of bluegrass – jazz, blues, gospel, old-time and so much more.

SUPERSESSION – WOMEN IN THE BUSINESS OF BLUEGRASS
WEDNESDAY 9AM – 9:50AM | RCC 306

An absolutely star-studded panel will explore how women and femme folks continue to carve out spaces for themselves, professionally, in these roots music communities. Panelists include: Deering Banjos chief executive Jamie Deering, event planner and promoter Claire Armbruster (Planning Stages), the owner/operator of Elderly Instruments, Lillian Werbin, broadcaster and radio host Michelle Lee, BGS contributor and collaborator Brandi Waller-Pace, a non-profit founder, organizer and educator (Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival & Decolonizing the Music Room), Rounder Records co-founder Marian Leighton Levy, Mary Beth Martin of the Earl Scruggs Center and Carly Smith of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum.

IBMA MOMENTUM AWARDS LUNCHEON
WEDNESDAY 11AM – 1PM | RCC BALLROOM

Each year during World of Bluegrass the Wednesday luncheon is devoted to awarding up-and-comers in the bluegrass industry, from bands and instrumentalists to industry involved professionals and mentors. You can see the full list of Momentum Awards nominees here. Plus, hear luncheon showcases by a fine selection of Bluegrass Ramble bands.

SUPERSESSION – OH, DIDN’T THEY RAMBLE: THE BLUEGRASS SIDE OF ROUNDER RECORDS
WEDNESDAY 1PM – 1:50PM | RCC 306

BGS contributor and Carolina Calling host David Menconi will release his new book, Oh, Didn’t They Ramble: Rounder Records and the Transformation of American Roots Music, next month, so it’s perfect timing for this panel examining the historical significance of this record label. The lineup will feature Rounder founders and IBMA Hall of Fame members Ken Irwin, Marian Leighton Levy and Bill Nowlin along with broadcaster Daniel Mullins and, of course, Menconi himself.

AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO PODCASTING 
WEDNESDAY 2PM – 2:50PM | RCC 304

We are so excited to convene Keith Billik of Picky Fingers Podcast, Lizzie No and Cindy Howes of Basic Folk, and more BGS team members from our Podcast Network to talk about the essentials of bluegrass and roots music podcasting. If you’re interested in learning about distribution, sponsorships, syndication, editing, production, pre-production and so much more, this conversation is for you.

IBMA INDUSTRY AWARDS LUNCHEON
THURSDAY 11AM – 1PM | RCC BALLROOM

On Thursday, the Industry Awards luncheon will recognize achievements and contributions of the industry’s sound engineers, broadcasters, writers and more. Plus, IBMA will hand out their second-highest honor, the Distinguished Achievement Award, to a small handful of honorees – of which we’re one! BGS is so humbled and honored to be one recipient of this year’s Distinguished Achievement Awards. Watch for a feature on BGS and the award presentation later this week.

Plus, a few more panels and programs starred on our calendar include:

AVOIDING TOKENISM IN TRAD MUSIC
WEDNESDAY 2PM – 2:50PM | RCC 306

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, & INCLUSION (DEI) TOWN HALL
WEDNESDAY 4PM – 5PM | RCC 306

IBMA TOWN HALL MEETING
THURSDAY 9AM – 10:30AM | RCC 306

YOUTUBE: FINDING YOUR COMMUNITY, GROWING YOUR AUDIENCE
THURSDAY 1:30PM – 2:20PM | RCC 305

IBMA WOMEN’S COUNCIL MEETING
THURSDAY 4PM – 5PM | RCC 306

THE MAKING OF WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN ALBUM AND ITS IMPACT ON THE WORLD
FRIDAY 1PM – 3PM | RCC 306

BLUEGRASS IS FOR EVERYONE JAM
SATURDAY 12PM – 2PM | RCC MAIN LOBBY

See the full conference schedule on IBMA’s website here.

Bluegrass Ramble

30+ bluegrass, old-time, and roots music bands will showcase throughout downtown Raleigh during IBMA’s World of Bluegrass. These shows are open to both conference attendees and the general public. Find out more about ticketing and admission here.

Not sure where to begin? Here are a few bands worth your attention – and perhaps a hasty jog down Fayetteville Street!

ALEX LEACH

Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and Clinch Mountain Boys alumnus Alex Leach brings a delightful ’60s and ’70s flair to his brand of central Appalachian bluegrass. We recently premiered his latest single, “Summer Haven,” and look forward to catching him live this week during the Bluegrass Ramble.

GOLDEN SHOALS

Golden Shoals are Nashville-based duo Amy Alvey and Mark Kilianski, another group we were fortunate enough to recently feature in a video premiere for “Bitter,” a song co-written by Alvey and Rachel Baiman.

RACHEL SUMNER & TRAVELING LIGHT

You may recognize Rachel Sumner from her time in zany, jazz-inflected string band Twisted Pine. She’s since ventured out on her own as a solo artist with her music centered on her New England-influenced songwriting and chambergrass aesthetics – though she originally hails from the Southwest U.S.

SEQUOIA ROSE

“Bluegrass is for everyone,” after all, and we’re so glad to see Sequoia Rose on the official showcase lineup for IBMA! We were first introduced to her jamgrassy music via submission earlier this year and have been itching for a chance to hear it live.

THOMAS CASSELL

Mandolinist, writer and songwriter Thomas Cassell – who, you may know, is a BGS contributor as well – makes his home in Nashville, Tennessee, though he was raised in the bluegrass-steeped mountains of Southwestern Virginia. His brand of bluegrass is all at once timeless and forward looking with its keystone being his honeyed voice, like a youthful Dan Tyminski with a dash of Russell Moore.

VIOLET BELL

North Carolina string duo Violet Bell are both ethereal and grounded. Their latest album, Shapeshifter, is a stunning conceptual work that is never burdened by the nuanced stories it tells. (Read our feature on the record here.) Omar Ruiz-Lopez and Lizzy Ross subtly and deftly complicate the roots music forms that infuse their music. A must-see at IBMA.

WYATT ELLIS

Our readers, followers and fans can’t get enough of mandolin prodigy Wyatt Ellis, who gracefully and virtuosically continues the now generations-old tradition of fleet-fingered youngsters shredding the mando. Like Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Chris Thile, Sierra Hull and many more before him, Wyatt enjoys cross-generational collaboration and has his sights set on a lifelong career in this music. Catch him showcasing at IBMA and tell folks thirty years from now you “saw him when.”

Keep in mind, this is merely the tip of the bluegrass iceberg for this week in Raleigh. There’s the entire lineup of the street fest plus the lineup of Bluegrass Live!’s mainstage, the Red Hat Amphitheater, to explore, too. In short, there’s nowhere else to be this week than Raleigh, North Carolina for IBMA’s World of Bluegrass conference and festival.

Graphics courtesy of IBMA