“One of Americana’s great up-and-coming secrets” (Rolling Stone), we first met Chattanooga-bred Amythyst Kiah as part of Our Native Daughters. The all-women-of-color supergroup — Kiah, Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell — earned a Grammy nomination for the Kiah-penned standout “Black Myself” and won Song of the Year at the 2019 Folk Alliance International … Continued
In the summer of 1978, Alison Brown took first prize at the Canadian National Banjo Championship. When Alison Krauss asked her to join Union Station in the late 1980s, Brown already had an illustrious decade of solo performing behind her. Alison Brown and her label, Compass Records, are great partners of FreshGrass and have been … Continued
Bonny Light Horseman — the Fruit Bats’ Eric D. Johnson, veteran multi-instrumentalist Josh Kaufman (The National, Josh Ritter), and Anaïs Mitchell, writer of the Tony award-winning Broadway musical, Hadestown — repaints centuries old folk ballads for our disconcerting present. Quietly charming us all last year with their eponymously titled debut album the folk supergroup earned … Continued
From early gigs at local pizza shops to world tours with Nickle Creek, brother-sister duo Sean and Sara Watkins grew up playing music side by side — and thankfully, somethings never change. Watkins Family Hour serves up down-home familial folk, blending intricate guitar picking, elegant fiddle, with the siblings’ honeyed voices into musical magic that’ll … Continued
Grammy award-winning songwriter and musician Aoife O’Donovan is one of the most sought-after singers and songwriters of her generation. She has released 3 critically-acclaimed solo albums, is co-founder of the bands I’m With Her and Crooked Still, is the featured vocalist on The Goat Rodeo Sessions with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, and Chris … Continued
Recently picking up her fourth Grammy Award — Best Americana Album — for her 2020 World on the Ground, Sarah Jarosz was last at FreshGrass with the all-star trio I’m With Her, Jarosz, Sara Watkins, and Aoife O’Donovan. 2021 will be Jarosz’s first solo set since her show stopping 2017 FreshGrass Composition Commission, Blue Heron … Continued
After their blazin’ late-night set in 2018, a hollerin’ Friday night kick-off in 2019, we’ve invited Steep Canyon Rangers back, this year as the second annual FreshGrass Artist-in-Residence. With a presence all three days, Steep Canyon Rangers will not only showcase their unparalleled cohesive magic with their own main stage set but will also premiere … Continued
Alternately known as the King of Telluride and the King of Newgrass, Grammy-winning mandolin player Sam Bush has perhaps more than any living musician helped to expand the horizons of bluegrass music, fusing it with jazz, rock, blues, funk, and other styles. He’s the co-founder of the genre-bending New Grass Revival and a player who … Continued
Since their first FreshGrass performance in 2013, Watchhouse — formerly known as Mandolin Orange — has quietly become one of North Carolina’s most significant bands. The husband and wife duo carry a deep understanding of tradition and shape it into a thing of beauty. They craft simple songs that go beyond chord progressions and vocal … Continued
Few artists — in any genre of music — have done more to expand the horizons of their instrument than the banjo wizard Béla Fleck. With a total Grammy Award count of 14 won and 30 nominations, he has been nominated in more categories than any instrumentalist in Grammy history. His ensembles and collaborations are … Continued
