ALL AGES
STANDING ROOM ONLY
Bluegrass is hot, and AJ Lee & Blue Summit and East Nash Grass are two of the hottest collections of young bluegrass talent you’ll find anywhere in America. Part of bluegrass’ fourth wave, these are musicians who’ve grown up at the feet of the bluegrass masters, but see the genre through a wider lens, incorporating not just Americana and stringband sensibilities, but rock, pop, R&B, and other flavors that take their music far beyond traditional bluegrass fare, without losing the essence of what gives bluegrass its heart. Best of all, when you put two groups like this together on the road, you can be sure they’ll cook up something special for every show — musicians of this caliber just can’t help but be inspired by each other. Might as well start getting excited now.
AJ Lee & Blue Summit are an award-winning, energetic, charming, and technically jaw-dropping band — and one of the most exciting and fast-rising Bluegrass / Americana bands on the scene today. Based in the California Bay Area, the group met as teenagers, picking and jamming together as kids at local bluegrass festivals. Currently made up of AJ Lee on mandolin, fi ddler Jan Purat, guitarists Scott Gates and Sullivan Tuttle (younger brother of Molly Tuttle), and bassist Sean Newman, the band still carries that youthful, festival-parking-lot energy with them, yet there’s a genuine ease and confi dence to their music making. A breakout year for the band, 2024 saw them release their critically acclaimed album, “City of Glass,” their fi rst label release on Signature Sounds recordings, combined with becoming one of the most in-demand bands in the Bluegrass scene. In 2025, the band continues to pack major venues around the country, along with major festival plays, and the release of “Cover to Cover V1,” an EP of cover songs being released throughout the year.
EAST NASH GRASSEast Nash Grass exemplifi es the best of what bluegrass has to off er — as being named the 2024 IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) New Artist of the Year would suggest. But their talent as singers, instrumentalists, and composers is just the beginning. The secret to East Nash Grass lies in their unfl inching ability to be themselves. It certainly helps that they are a veritable supergroup of award-winners who have been performing longer than some might guess they’ve been alive, with experience working with Dan Tyminski, Tim O’Brien, Sierra Hull, and Rhonda Vincent, as just a start. After hundreds of sets (and countless late-night jams) in Nashville, East Nash Grass has coalesced into the hair-raising ensemble of Harry Clark (mandolin), Cory Walker (banjo), James Kee (guitar), Maddie Denton (fi ddle), and Jeff Partin (bass/dobro). Their love of both bluegrass and the absurd can be felt in both their live shows and on their new album “All God’s Children” (Mountain Fever, 2025), which keep listeners on the edge of their seats, marveling at irrefutable mastery and wondering just what might come next.
