OUTPOST: The Plate Scrapers
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINE The Plate ScrapersBorn from the tradition of Bluegrass jams and potlucks, The Plate Scrapers — Derek Kretzer (banjo), Andrew Jordan (guitar), Robbie Mann (fiddle), Jody Mosser (dobro), and Kevin Johnson (bass) — have been putting in the work and showcasing their love for the genre since 2014. They have since released 3 studio albums, 3 live albums, and have toured relentlessly up and down the east coast and into the midwest. In 2019, they won the Podunk Bluegrass Telefunken Band Contest. They have been featured on WAMU Bluegrass Country Radio, performed as an IBMA Official Showcase artist, and their latest release, Destination Horizon (2020) debuted at #9 on the Bluegrass Album Billboard charts with rave reviews from Bluegrass Today. Jackson Grimm & the Bull Moose Party Jackson Grimm is an accomplished and respected multi-instrumentalist and teacher in the Asheville music community. His songs marry folk pop melodies with the lonesome sound of traditional Appalachian music. In a region with a strong music culture, it is no surprise that Grimm’s songwriting is representative of his musical birthplace: Asheville, NC. Grimm studied Traditional Music at Warren Wilson College under the tutelage of great players like Wayne Erbsen and Kevin Kehrberg. Grimm lives in Asheville, North Carolina, and can be found playing solo or around Western North Carolina with bluegrass band, The Bull Moose Party. Audience members can expect a tight and dynamic unit replete with fast picking, harmony singing, and modern stringband swagger. Blending modern original folk music, traditional stringboard music, and bluegrass covers that you’ll sing along with, Jackson Grimm & the Bull Moose Party are esteemed members of Asheville’s traditional music scene. Jackson Grimm stands out as a artist who stays true to his roots while pushing the boundaries of the genre in the ever-evolving world of country, bluegrass and old-time music
Mountain Grass Unit: Summer Tour
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLYMOUNTAIN GRASS UNITThe Mountain Grass Unit consists of three Birmingham pickers: Drury Anderson (mandolin and vocals), Luke Black (acoustic guitar and banjo), and Sam Wilson (upright bass). The Mountain Grass Unit has played music festivals, private functions and multiple music venues, playing bluegrass tunes and adding a bluegrass touch to country, jazz, funk, rock, and even metal. With the addition of Luke Black and Sam Wilson on harmonies, The Mountain Grass Unit has established the firm foundation to take on not only the vocal harmonies of traditional bluegrass tunes, but also the freedom to adapt songs from various genres to an all-acoustic format. Aside from their original songs, all three are equally comfortable restyling a Tony Rice number, a classic Grateful Dead tune, or covering contemporary acoustic masters like Billy Strings. The youthful exuberance and energy they bring to the stage is always remarkable. Their competency at what they do was best described by Birmingham music promoter Steve Masterson when the boys performed at his Acoustic Café festival: “They don’t just play good for their age, they play good. Period”. Sam, Luke, and Drury are excited to share with their audiences this new and exciting musical chapter.
Brew Davis with Nick Dauphinais: Brewgrass Album Release Show
– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEBREW DAVIS WITH NICK DAUPHINAIS Brew Davis grew up in the shadow of the Bluebird Cafe- the songs of Music City seeping into his bones, working through his soul, and coming out in pen and paper. But not before he’d worked at the seminal Americana label Sugar Hill Records and moved to the Southern Appalachians. All these influences combine to create his own unique blend of “Brewgrass” music. He has shared “Brewgrass” at legendary venues like the Cat’s Cradle, the Down Home, Douglas Corner Cafe and the Basement and received praise from Americana artists, Music Row royalty, and members of the Grand Ole Opry. He’s performed live on WNCW, the WDVX Blue Plate Special and stations across the Tarheel state, and his songs have been used on PBS shows, Amazon Prime and various documentary films. “Green Garland,” which he penned with Charles Humphrey III and Charlie Chamberlain, is currently top 10 on Bluegrass Today’s Grassicana chart for Songs from the Road Band, and his self-titled debut album was #64 on WNCW’s 2018 top 100. Pam Tillis calls “Darlin’ Caroline,” his 2023 single, “a winsome, endearingly earnest account of the many reasons Brew fell heart over hills for the state he now calls home.” He collaborated with Nick Dauphinais to create Brewgrass, his fourth studio album, and the two will be touring extensively as Davis & Dauphinais throughout the Southern Appalachians and beyond in 2024.
AJ Lee and Blue Summit
– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEAJ LEE AND BLUE SUMMIT AJ Lee and Blue Summit made their first appearance in Santa Cruz in 2015. Led by singer, songwriter, and mandolinist, AJ Lee, the bluegrass band has performed all over the world, but finds home in California’s Bay Area. The latest full length project, I’ll Come Back, debuted August 2021 – with national touring in support of the record ongoing. Although falling loosely under the bluegrass label, AJLBS generally plays sans banjo, with Sullivan Tuttle and Scott Gates on steel stringed acoustic guitars, AJ on mandolin, Jan Purat on fiddle, and Chad Bowen on upright bass – a configuration effectively used to create unique space and texture in the arrangements not as commonly found in the music of their peers. Drawing from influences such as country, soul, swing, rock, and jam music, the band uses the lens of bluegrass as a vessel through which to express and explore the thread that binds and unifies all great music.81 DRIFTERS Hailing from the scenic landscapes of Appalachia, the 81 Drifters weave a tapestry of sounds ranging from singer-songwriter originals to bluegrass, western swing, old country, and classic rock. Whether they’re playing intimate venues or taking center stage at festivals, they captivate audiences with their infectious energy, skillful musicianship, and passion for the music they create. The band features multi-instrumentalists and songwriters Nick Colavito (Guitar/Banjo/Harmonica), Chad Brown (Mandolin/Guitar), Kristina Miller (Fiddle) and Hunter Andrus (Bass). Find their first two singles “Moved to the City” and “Headed on my Way” on all streaming platforms.
Sicard Hollow
ALL AGES – STANDING ROOM ONLY SICARD HOLLOW Nashville’s psychedelic punk-grass rockers, Sicard Hollow, grew up sick of any existing institution telling them who and what to be. Now, as they navigate adulthood, they’re equally tired of the music institutions telling them what their music should sound like— so they dunked it in patchouli and a skate-and-destroy ethos that brings an enduring sound into the modern age. Before the band met in 2018, none of the members ever considered playing bluegrass. Matt Rennick (violin) was working on electronic music, Will Herrin (mandolin/vocals) was playing guitar in rock bands, and Alex King (guitar/vocals) was barely playing music at all. After a few jam sessions, the bluegrass just kind of happened. Since adding Parrish Gabriel (bass) in the Fall of 2019, the band has been on a journey of self discovery within the genre while challenging themselves to make it their own. Whether it was skateboarding or chasing jam bands, singer/guitar-player Alex King always had a fierce desire to succeed on his own terms. He spent years as an artist without an art-form, searching for a home by pouring every bit of his sweat and heart into anything he was doing. “It took years for me to land on music,” King says, referencing “This I Know” from the album, “but when I found that fire inside my heart, I found my home.It just so happened that finding that home coincided with the shutdown of live music due to the pandemic that canceled the entire release tour supporting their debut studio record, ‘Secret of the Breeze.’ During that time, the band turned inward to reflect on their identity and how they could add their generation’s voice to a timeless genre of music. The result, with the help of producer John Mailander (Billy Strings, Bruce Hornsby) and Recording/mixing engineer Dan Davis (Billy Strings, Zac Brown Band, Dierks Bentley), was a combination of pop-punk melodies, psychedelic instrumental breaks, and existential song-writing all packaged as a bluegrass quartet dressed in tattoos and tie-dyes.Tracks like Herrin’s “Escape the Unknown,” wrestle with staying true to yourself in a world seemingly fueled by mob-mentality. This positive skepticism toward the main-stream permeates the entire record. Songs like “Forecast of Life” and “Where I’m At” impress a new-American-Zen that dances through the chaos with a smile on your face. If unapologetically being yourself is the key to finding the “Brightest of Days” ahead, then you’ll hear it here first from Sicard Hollow. THE TALISMEN The Talismen formed in 2015 in Montgomery, Alabama, during the band members’ high school years. Over the past eight years, the band has evolved and progressed as a highly creative, powerful force; entertaining audiences across the country. With a combination of energy and sophistication beyond their years, The Talismen approach each performance as a totally unique experience featuring an expansive catalog of soulful, funk-filled originals, along with a constantly evolving rotation of covers. The Talismen released their debut album, Jar Full of Something, in February 2019. The album has since totaled over one million streams via Spotify. In March of 2020, the band released a four-song EP, Extra Vehicular Activity, which was recorded and produced by Kevin Scott (Gov’t Mule / Jimmy Herring). They have since released two live albums (Live From The Bunker, Live From Saturn), as well as a series of singles.
An Evening With Jason Carter
– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEJASON CARTERIn Lloyd, Kentucky, on U.S. 23, there’s a sign on the Country Music Highway dedicated to renowned fiddler Jason Carter. It was placed there because of his other accomplishments—the Grammy awards, the worldwide tours, and the many other accolades he’s earned through his music. But for Carter, joining the legendary names honored on that stretch of highway just might mean the most. “There’s a certain sound that’s up there that you just don’t hear anywhere else,” he says. “I think that played a big part in how I sound today.” True to those Kentucky roots, Carter continues to pour all he has back into bluegrass. For thirty years, he has been the fiddle player for the Del McCoury Band—the most awarded group in bluegrass history. He’s won three Grammy awards, including 2018’s “Best Bluegrass Album” with the Travelin’ McCourys, of which he is a founding member. And he’s taken home five IBMAs for “Fiddle Player of the Year,” a staggering number that isn’t quite so crazy once you realize just how many bluegrass greats have turned to Carter for collaboration. As a fiddler, Carter has been featured on albums by Steve Earle, Ricky Skaggs, Dierks Bentley, Charlie Daniels, Vince Gill, Asleep at the Wheel, and many more, all in addition to his tireless touring and recording with Del as well as the Travelin’ McCourys. On Carter’s forthcoming solo album, Lowdown Hoedown, listeners may recognize instrumental contributions from such legends as Jerry Douglas or Sam Bush alongside vocals from young trailblazers like Sarah Jarosz or Billy Strings. This time, though, Carter is singing lead. Scattered across the album, too, are hints of the influences that have shaped Carter’s sound throughout his life. A guitar player since childhood and a fiddler since 15 (the age when he swore that someday he’d play in the Del McCoury Band), Carter inherited his love for bluegrass from his father, a musician himself, and grew up playing at jams, festivals, and campgrounds across Kentucky. After he graduated high school, he took his talent as a fiddler on the road professionally: first with the Goins Brothers, then at 19 with the Del McCoury Band, and later with the Travelin’ McCourys. In the decades since, he’s seen the bluegrass community evolve and expand. “The bluegrass fans, they’re pretty loyal,” he says, noting that he’s found a similar kinship sharing stages with jam bands like Phish and Leftover Salmon, too. “They stick behind you, they’re there for you.” Carter mirrors that loyalty with his own—loyalty to his craft, loyalty to the road, and loyalty to the career path he’s dreamt of since childhood. With Lowdown Hoedown, Carter shares the fruits of decades’ worth of on-the-road experience, spectacular musical sensibility, and genuine excitement for what bluegrass can be.
Big Richard
– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMIITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEBIG RICHARD What began as an all-female festival collab quickly morphed into a serious passion project driven by sisterhood, harmony and humor…along with the shared desire to rage fiddle tunes and smash the patriarchy. Big Richard is a neo-acoustic super group made up of four well established Colorado musicians: Bonnie Sims on mandolin (Bonnie & Taylor Sims/Everybody Loves An Outlaw/Bonnie & the Clydes), Joy Adams on cello (Nathaniel Rateliff/Darol Anger/Half Pelican), Emma Rose on bass + guitar (Sound of Honey/Daniel Rodriguez/Whippoorwill) and Eve Panning on fiddle (Lonesome Days). Formed in late 2021, the band gained immediate notoriety for their charismatic stage presence and their vocal/instrumental prowess. After selling out all of their club shows Big Richard quickly started confirming festival appearances across America.CODY HALECody Hale is a singer/songwriter from Penrose, North Carolina. He began writing music in 2010 after a career ending injury kept him off the basketball court. He currently travels and performs with his wife, Jonlyn Linville, who plays fiddle and sings. The duo has crafted their own sound through years of performing live music. You will hear popular, classic songs mixed in with clever and capturing original tunes if you attend one of their shows.
An Evening With Sam Grisman Project (presents the music of Garcia/Grisman)
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYSAM GRISMAN PROJECT PRESENTS THE MUSIC OF GARCIA/GRISMAN A Note From Sam– The music that my father David Grisman and his close friend, Jerry Garcia, made in the early 90s (in the house that I grew up in) is not only some of the most timeless acoustic music ever recorded, it also triggers my oldest and fondest musical memories. What I find most inspiring about this material is the way their camaraderie and their love and joy for the music, simply oozes out of each recording. It is also impressive how deeply they get beneath their favorite songs—whether they are originals, covers or traditional/old time tunes—and how expertly that material was curated. My goal in starting Sam Grisman Project is to build a platform for my friends and me to showcase our genuine passion and appreciation for the legacy of Dawg and Jerry’s music. By playing some of their beloved repertoire and sharing the original music that our own collective has to offer, we will also show the impact that this music has had on our own individual musical voices. Ultimately, there is nothing that makes me happier than playing great songs with my best friends and my hope is to share that happiness with audiences all over!”
Darren Nicholson Band
– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEDARREN NICHOLSON BAND A GRAMMY nominee and winner of 13 International Bluegrass Music Association awards, Darren Nicholson has taken his own brand of mountain music around the world. A regular for years on the Grand Ole Opry out of Nashville Tennessee, and a founding member of acclaimed bluegrass group Balsam Range, Darren now spends his time recording, writing new songs, and performing. You can catch Darren almost every week sharing the music he loves somewhere, traveling both nationally and internationally – as a solo artist, with his own Darren Nicholson Band, or in collaboration with other musicians. With new music on the way, Darren is booking now for the 2023 season and beyond.
OUTPOST: Hot Brown Smackdown
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINEHot Brown Smackdown”A dynamic, high-energy newgrass band hailing from Louisville, KY. Known for their electrifying live performances and unique sound, the band combines traditional bluegrass instrumentation with elements of rock, jazz, and funk to create a sound that is both avante-garde and timeless. Over the years Hot Brown Smackdown has earned a reputation for their impressive musicianship, infectious energy, and complex compositions. With a lineup consisting of Arthur Geissler on drums and vocals, Patrick Schroering on mandolin and vocals, John Blum on banjo, Ellie Ruth Miller on fiddle, Justin Cecil on bass, and Anthony Le on guitar, the band has become a fixture in the Appalachian music scene. With the release of their self-titled album in 2021, the band established themselves as one of the most exciting bands in the circuit, delivering a newgrass-fusion sound that is all their own. Since then, the band has continued to evolve and hone their craft, releasing two new singles and is currently mid-production on their sophomore album. In addition to their studio recordings, Hot Brown Smackdown is best experienced live, where their captivating performances and improvisational skills are on full display. Whether playing to a packed field at a music festival or a small club, the band always packs a punch, combining brightly textured, hard-driving, POWERFUL bluegrass polyphony with high-energy groove and soul.”
