Progressive Bluegrass

Mountain was an American hard rock band formed in Long Island, New York, in 1969. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Leslie West, bassist and vocalist Felix Pappalardi, keyboardist Steve Knight, and drummer N. D. Smart (soon replaced by Corky Laing), the band broke up in 1972, but reunited on several occasions prior to West's death in 2020. Best known for their cowbell-tinged song "Mississippi Queen", as well as the heavily sampled song "Long Red" and their performance at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, Mountain is one of many bands to be commonly credited as having influenced the development of heavy metal music in the 1970s. The group's musical style primarily consisted of hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal.

Railroad Earth is a bluegrass-influenced Americana band formed in Stillwater, New Jersey in 2001. The band's music combines elements of progressive bluegrass, folk, rock, country, jazz, Celtic and other Americana influences. Recognized as "carrying on the tradition of improvisational, genre-spanning music laid forth by the Grateful Dead," Railroad Earth is known for lyrical songwriting and extensive live improvisation. The band takes its name from the Jack Kerouac prose poem "October in the Railroad Earth". The band also has a song of the same name.

The band was originally formed in 2001, and was composed of vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Todd Sheaffer, violinist/vocalist Tim Carbone, mandolinist John Skehan, multi-instrumentalist Andy Goessling, drummer/vocalist Carey Harmon, and bassist Dave Von Dollen. Though each member was aware of one another, it was only Todd, Tim, and Andy who had played together. Tim, had joined Todd's band From Good Homes on stage, in addition Tim and Andy having a 20-year friendship through their former bands, The Blue Sparks From Hell, and New Jersey rock outfit Kings in Disguise. When rehearsals of original music, mostly written by Sheaffer, began occurring, the band soon realized that something musically unique was happening. After three weeks of rehearsing, they went into a local recording studio to track a five-song demo. Recorded live with no overdubs except backing vocals, this untitled demo set Railroad Earth's career in motion. Within a week, they landed a slot at Telluride Bluegrass Festival, an appearance that was only the new band's tenth as Railroad Earth. The previous nine gigs had been little more than warm-ups at small North Jersey bars and Elks lodges and a couple of support slots for regional bands. Realizing immediately how strong the initial five-song demo was, the band decided to return to the same studio to cut another five tracks to complete an album for release in time to debut at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. In early April 2001, the band tracked another five songs, and The Black Bear Sessions was completed. It was released to the public in June 2001, just one week before their appearance at Telluride. That album contains what are still some of the most popular songs in Railroad Earth's repertoire, including "Seven Story Mountain," "Head" and, of course, "Railroad Earth."

Cornmeal is a roots and bluegrass jamband from Chicago, Illinois.

A nationally recognized live music institution, Cornmeal is heavily influenced by American roots and folk music and seamlessly blends lightning fast tempos and impeccable harmonies into an unrivaled live performance that continues to expand upon the five-piece acoustic-electric groups’ vast musical repertoire. While steeped in the tradition of the past, Cornmeal continues to forge a path all their own, pushing the boundaries of bluegrass, Americana and folk for a whole new generation of music lovers. With a growing fan base and ever-evolving sound, Cornmeal challenges the recipe of bluegrass and live performance. Cornmeal has never been a band to shy away from reinvention and after over 15 years, they are proving just that as the band sets out with a reformed lineup, fresh energetic sound and a long-awaited first studio album in over 9 years.

The SteelDrivers are a bluegrass band from Nashville, Tennessee. Members include fiddler Tammy Rogers, bassist Mike Fleming, guitarist/vocalist Kelvin Damrell, mandolinist Brent Truitt, and banjoist Richard Bailey. Past members include Chris Stapleton, Gary Nichols, and Mike Henderson. The band has recorded four albums on the Rounder Records label and one independent live album recorded at The Station Inn. The band has received several Grammy nominations and won a Grammy for the album The Muscle Shoals Recordings.

After playing at bluegrass festivals The SteelDrivers signed to Rounder Records and released a self-titled debut in 2008, featuring new lead singer Chris Stapleton. The album peaked at No. 57 on the U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The group was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2009 for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for their song "Blue Side of the Mountain." In 2010, the group received two nominations for its second album, Reckless. The album has been nominated for both Best Bluegrass Album and Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the song "Where Rainbows Never Die".

Steep Canyon Rangers is an American bluegrass band based in Asheville and Brevard, North Carolina. Though formed in 2000, the band has become widely known since 2009 for collaborating with actor/banjoist Steve Martin. In 2013, the Steep Canyon Rangers' solo album Nobody Knows You won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album. The previous year, their 2012 collaboration with Steve Martin, Rare Bird Alert, was nominated for the same award. Steep Canyon Rangers have recorded 9 solo albums plus two collaborative albums with Steve Martin. SCR performed as a quintet for nearly a decade before intermittent touring began as a sextet with Steve Martin; the band still performs in both configurations. In May 2013, Steve Martin and SCR began performing with Edie Brickell after she and Martin co-wrote and recorded Love Has Come for You.

The Infamous Stringdusters are a progressive acoustic/bluegrass band. The band first emerged in 2006 with the limited release of a five-song extended play CD The Infamous Stringdusters, followed in 2007 by their first album Fork in the Road. Both of these were on Sugar Hill Records. The band consists of Andy Hall (Dobro), Andy Falco (guitar), Chris Pandolfi (banjo), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle), and Travis Book (double bass). The band has become known for a complex, distinctive, and groove-friendly sound along with a bluegrass theme.

The Infamous Stringdusters won three awards at the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards Ceremony in October 2007: Emerging Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for Fork in the Road (in a tie with J.D. Crowe & the New South's album Lefty's Old Guitar), and Song of the Year for the album's title cut. The band was also nominated for 2011 Entertainer of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association.

Dangermuffin is an American band from Folly Beach, South Carolina. Their musical styles include Americana, folk, and jam music that's organic and cool. The band is a trio whose instrumentation includes acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and drums. The group was founded in 2007 and has been touring throughout the United States since. Dangermuffin released their sixth album, Heritage, in May 2017.

The Yonder Mountain String Band is an American progressive bluegrass group from Nederland, Colorado. Composed of Dave Johnston, Ben Kaufmann, Adam Aijala, and Nick Piccininni, the band has released five studio albums and several live recordings to date.

Cadillac Sky is a Progressive Bluegrass group based in Nashville, Tennessee. Their debut album "Blind Man Walking" is widely considered to be one of the greatest albums in Progressive Bluegrass music. The band is currently on an "indefinite hiatus".

Cadillac Sky was founded in Texas and recorded their first album, Blind Man Walking, in 2006, including mainly traditional bluegrass tunes. The band members at that time were Matt Menefee (Banjo), Ross Holmes (Violin), Bryan Simpson (mandolin), Mike Jump (guitar, vocals), and Matt Blaize (bass, vocals).

In 2008, the band played at the Panhandle Bluegrass Festival in Hedgesville, West Virginia, and released an album, Gravity's Our Enemy.

"Pumped Up Kicks" is a song by American indie pop band Foster the People. It was released as the band's debut single in September 2010, and the following year was included on their EP Foster the People and their debut album, Torches. "Pumped Up Kicks" became the group's breakthrough hit and was one of the most popular songs of 2011. The song was written and recorded by frontman Mark Foster while he was working as a commercial jingle writer. Contrasting with the upbeat musical composition, the lyrics describe the homicidal thoughts of a troubled youth named Robert, and is a reference to school shootings in the United States.

Acoustic Syndicate is a roots-rock/Americana band from North Carolina that has been an active part of the rock music scene since forming in 1992. They have toured nationally in the US, including appearances at Farm Aid, Jazzfest, MerleFest, and the Bonnaroo Music Festival. Their sound is characterized by three-part vocal blood harmony and complex polyrhythmic banjo playing. Although they are known for featuring traditional acoustic instruments, Acoustic Syndicate's early influences in rock, jazz and reggae surface throughout their approach to songwriting with electric guitar, electric bass and saxophone instrumentation often appearing. Lyrically, the group often discusses themes relating to subsistence, sustainability, social justice and quality of life. Their live touring act is a popular draw to festivals, theaters, clubs, and performing arts centers.

Trampled by Turtles is an American bluegrass-influenced folk band from Duluth, Minnesota. They have released ten full albums, three of which reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard bluegrass chart. Their fifth release, Palomino, stayed in the chart's Top 10 for 52 straight weeks. Their latest album, Alpenglow, was released on October 28, 2022.

Danny Barnes (born December 21, 1961) is a banjo and guitar player, singer, and composer whose music is influenced by country, jazz, blues, punk, metal, and more. He has been described as a "banjo virtuoso" and is "widely acknowledged as one of the best banjo players in America." He was a founding member of the Austin trio the Bad Livers, with whom he toured and recorded extensively from 1990 to 2000. Since the, he has performed and recorded as a solo artist, as well as collaborating with Bill Frisell, Dave Matthews, Jeff Austin and other musicians. In 2013, Barnes and Max Brody formed the Test Apes. In September 2015, Barnes was awarded the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass, in recognition of his role as "one of bluegrass music’s most distinctive and innovative performers." Martin’s website said of Barnes’ work: "The raw and unpolished musical breadth of his compositions has propelled him across the industry today."

Hot Buttered Rum (also known as Hot Buttered Rum String Band and HBRSB) is an American five-piece progressive bluegrass act based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The group performs frequently at music festivals, including the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Newport Folk Festival, South by Southwest, High Sierra Music Festival, Bonnaroo Music Festival, Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. They have also headlined The Fillmore in their home city of San Francisco and have performed with a wide array of artists, including Phil Lesh, Ben Harper, Chris Thile, Bela Fleck, Peter Rowan, and Bill Nershi.

Their song "Right Between Your Eyes" gained national prominence when it was selected to serve as the theme music for the PBS TV show, "Cook's Country from America's Test Kitchen".

Hot Buttered Rum (also known as Hot Buttered Rum String Band and HBRSB) is an American five-piece progressive bluegrass act based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The group performs frequently at music festivals, including the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Newport Folk Festival, South by Southwest, High Sierra Music Festival, Bonnaroo Music Festival, Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. They have also headlined The Fillmore in their home city of San Francisco and have performed with a wide array of artists, including Phil Lesh, Ben Harper, Chris Thile, Bela Fleck, Peter Rowan, and Bill Nershi.

Their song "Right Between Your Eyes" gained national prominence when it was selected to serve as the theme music for the PBS TV show, "Cook's Country from America's Test Kitchen".