Great bluegrass bands put on mileage from live performances, late-night picking circles, and road-worn camaraderie. Carson Peters & Iron Mountain understand that better than most, as the band, led by a 21-year-old fiddle prodigy from Piney Flats, Tennessee. But why Iron Mountain? “Where my dad grew up in Elizabethton, Tennessee, there’s an Iron Mountain,” says Peters. “And the original bass and guitar players, Eric and Ben Marshall, also lived near an Iron Mountain. It wasn’t the same one, but we figured, well, we both got an Iron Mountain, so we might as well roll with it.” Peters first picked up a ukulele at two and a half years old, and by three, his father had placed a tiny fiddle in his hands. The first fiddle tune Peters ever learned, “Boil Them Cabbage Down,” is a simple song, a staple of every young fiddler’s repertoire. “That’s where it all started,” he says. “That was the first time I felt the energy of making music, even if it was just in my living room.” Just a few years later, he was trading licks with Ricky Skaggs on the Grand Ole Opry stage, as well as appearing on “The Tonight Show” and “The Voice.” “It was a whirlwind,” Peters recalls, crediting his YouTube presence with the initial exposure that led to those appearances. “If it weren’t for the good Lord and people being in the right place at the right time, I wouldn’t have done any of that.” The band’s lineup has shifted since 2014, growing alongside Peters himself. Originally featuring two father-and-son duos—including Peters and his dad, Jamie—the group has since welcomed mandolinist Austin Tate, banjoist James McDowell, and bassist Taylor Parks. The chemistry is real, a mix of road-tested brotherhood and shared reverence for the music. That reverence is evident in their songwriting, a process that has become increasingly integral to their identity — even dealing with Peters’ voice changing in his teen years. While bluegrass traditionally leans on tales of heartache and hardship, Peters and his crew push forward with original material that keeps one foot in tradition and the other in a more personal, lived-in storytelling. “We used to do mostly covers,” Peters says. “Now, it’s almost all original, except for maybe one gospel cover on the next record.” That shift was cemented after signing with Billy Blue Records and releasing Gotta Lotta Lonesome  in 2023, marking a significant step in the band’s growth, as they transitioned from a group that honored bluegrass legends to one that now actively contributes with crafty tales of its own. Faith is as much a part of this band as the strings on their instruments. No matter where they are on a Saturday night, they find a church to play in on Sunday morning. “Weekends are our workdays, so I don’t get back to my home church much,” Peters explains. “But being in church, giving thanks for what we’ve been given, that’s important to us.” It’s a testament to their grounding in faith that despite the grueling road schedule, they prioritize spiritual connection just as much as musical precision. They work these crowds, too, whether that’s at the Grand Ole Opry, a festival in Canada (where Peters says the traditional bluegrass fans are as die-hard as anywhere in Tennessee), or in Branson, Missouri, where they usually play a Beatles-in-Hamburg schedule: four sets a day for three days straight, an exhausting but formative experience that tightens a band’s chops like nothing else. “By the end of it, we’re playing everything we know,” Peters laughs. “But man, it keeps us sharp. You don’t get a lot of chances to take a breath, but that’s the best way to make sure you’re really on top of your game.” Iron Mountain stokes a fire onstage that translates across state lines, national borders, and generational divides. Peters’ favorite tune to perform right now isn’t an album cut or even an original; it’s “Rain and Snow,” a haunting traditional tune dating back to 1917. “Everybody and their grandma has done it,” says Peters. As for his fiancée’s reaction to the lyrics (“Lord, I married me a wife, she gave me trouble all my life”), Peters grins at the idea: “She knows 95 percent of bluegrass songs are about love gone wrong.” Carson Peters & Iron Mountain bridge generations with a sound that respects tradition while charging ahead with fresh intensity. Their music carries the soul of bluegrass into new territory, whether through the rich harmonies of a Sunday morning gospel set, the electrifying energy of a Branson performance, or the grit of an original track on their next album. It’s tough to pull off fresh and  timeless when it comes to music, but this band does just that – with a big ole grin.

Bluegrass fans will be familiar with Casey Driessen’s fiddling influences: Byron Berline, Vassar Clements, Bobby Hicks, Kenny Baker, Stuart Duncan, and Mark O’Connor. But this Asheville, N.C., fiddler is charting a unique career as a vibrant performer, thoughtful teacher, imaginative entrepreneur, and musical ambassador whose projects have taken him to 22 countries on four continents.   Whether he’s playing in a traditional bluegrass band with his five-string fiddle or performing Singularity, his one-man live looping show, it's always an adventure.   “I just enjoy playing music that feels good when I listen to it,” Driessen says. “Really exciting things happen when I branch out of my comfort zone musically.”   That openness to new ventures has led to projects with Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Tim O’Brien, Abigail Washburn, and Steve Earle, among others, and four solo records.   Born in Minnesota, Driessen’s family moved to the Chicago area when he was ten. He grew up surrounded by music.   “My dad played banjo and pedal steel guitar around the house, doing some bluegrass and sort of country western things. I grew up going to festivals. Then he put a fiddle in my hand, probably because it’s lighter than a banjo or pedal steel guitar, and we would play some tunes together. That's how I got started.”   While he played in the school orchestra, Driessen never had a classical teacher. “My dad would send me to camps, and I’d get a practice regimen going. He bribed me with baseball cards, basically.”   Driessen went to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he interacted with bold and accomplished musicians from diverse backgrounds. “We had a lot going on. It was a really creative and community-minded scene going on when I was up there,” he recalls.   Driessen pursues creativity and adventure in his professional life. After 15 years performing as a solo artist and as a touring musician supporting other artists, Driessen moved his family in 2016 to Valencia, Spain, to serve as the program director of Contemporary Performance (Production Concentration) at Berklee College’s international campus. After four years in higher education- just before the pandemic- he spent a year traveling the world with his family, documenting musical collaborations with local artists. The result was “Otherlands,” his collection of essays and audio and video recordings documenting his experiences in Spain, Ireland, Scotland, India, Japan, Finland, Italy, Slovakia, and Czechia. While all the visits were rewarding, one was especially memorable.   “India was the only country we went to that I didn't have any experience with previously, so everything there was new for me,” he says. “I learned so much stuff there that I still practice and think about and share with other students and fiddle players and musicians. So, India stands out for me.”   Driessen is now busy with many activities, such as directing the second annual Blue Ridge Fiddle Camp in Brevard, N.C., near his home in Asheville. Banjoist Bela Fleck and guitarist Bryan Sutton also run camps at Brevard.   “The facility is fantastic. It’s set up for this sort of thing,” Driessen says. There’s lots of cabins and open-air spaces for classrooms. It's just a beautiful, serene, creative place. When you’re here, you're removed from the little town, so you can really focus on playing and getting into music.   “It's really for anybody who plays what we would call the fiddle or violin and has an open mind and an adventurous musical spirit. Bluegrass is certainly represented there, as are other fiddling traditions, but there's so much more that is of interest to people who really get into the instrument.”   Driessen continues to perform his solo shows with a pedal board, live looping, and tour with Grammy-nominated banjoist Tony Trischka. “And I've been doing a lot of work with Woody Platt (formerly of the Steep Canyon Rangers). He's got a new record out. We go under the name The Bluegrass Gentlemen. We came together to do some stuff with Steve Martin and Martin Short.”   Driessen has also been asked to produce a jam at this year’s Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival in Oak Hill, New York. He’ll create an all-star band from all the visiting musicians. It’s called The Red Shoe Stringjam, a tribute to the footwear he always sports that he has become known for.   But those shoes aren’t his only trademark. He’s also known for his willingness to take on new opportunities and challenges. You can see it in everything from his global journeys to the unique fiddle camp he’s created.   “There are other fiddle camps out there, so I think this one probably should reflect the things that I'm passionate about, such as adventure and aspects of rhythm and technology. So that’s what I think I can bring to this little camp community.”

When Patrick David Sawyer began making Pisgah Banjos in 2012, he focused on sustainability—a deeply rooted concept in his soul. Raised in Morganton, North Carolina, the surrounding nature of the Pisgah National Forest profoundly affected his outlook on life. However, it wasn’t until he attended college at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, that he began connecting the dots that would lead to his career. Like many kids, Patrick played in his middle and high school bands. “I played the trombone,” he recalls. He continued playing as a classical and jazz trombone performance major in college. But something shifted when he took an Intro to Appalachian Studies class as an elective. For two weeks, the class focused on music, and during that time, Patrick began questioning his choices. His roommate had a banjo, and Patrick started learning how to play it. He was soon paying attention to local players like George Shuffler, a cross-picker from Drexel, and Doc Watson, not far from Patrick’s hometown. “I searched for banjo makers and found Charlie Glenn in Beech Mountain, North Carolina. I asked him if he would show me how to make one.” Patrick’s father was an amateur woodworker who made period reproduction furniture and restored furniture, so Patrick was accustomed to helping in the shop. “I always loved working with my hands,” he says. He built his first banjo in 2005, during his sophomore year of college. Patrick graduated in 2008 with a geography and renewable energy degree, thinking he would pursue a related career. After college, he worked at the John C. Campbell Folk School  in Brasstown, North Carolina, before hiking the Appalachian Trail. In 2012, he set up shop in Fairview, North Carolina, and founded Pisgah Banjo Co . The next logical step for Patrick was to start a company that sold banjo parts. “Pisgah was growing, but we needed cash flow. We addressed that by selling parts to other banjo makers.” He named the sister company Balsam Banjoworks after the Balsam Rage in Pisgah National Forest to keep with the local theme. “We have worked hard to develop relationships with small American metal fabricators,” says Patrick. “The proper forging and tooling methods are essential to creating premium-quality, affordable banjo hardware. And it was important to us that the companies were domestic. We want to contribute to the resurgence of domestic manufacturing. Supporting the livelihood of American workers and artisans is important to us.” Established in 2014, Balsam Banjoworks designs, manufactures, and provides high-quality, affordable American-made banjo hardware to small banjo builders and restorers. “It’s our way of continuing the heritage and reviving the tradition that is so deeply rooted here.” The company contracts with over a dozen mom-and-pop machine shops across the country. “We are constantly working on product development and continuous improvement.” Balsam Banjoworks offers an incentive program called Balsam Builders to keep prices affordable. The company’s website states, “All builders who sign up for the program receive the lowest price break (wholesale) regardless of quantity. You do not have to be a Balsam Builder to receive the price discounts. You simply have to order at the price breaks to receive the discounts.” Using native woods, running a solar-powered facility, and sourcing and selling American-made banjo parts align with Patrick’s commitment to sustainability. He still plays the banjo every day, but with two businesses to run and a family with two children, he stays fairly close to home these days. He did make it to IBMA World of Bluegrass in Raleigh but left early due to Hurricane Helene. “I brought supplies home with me, and I barely made it back,” he recalls. “Helene affected everybody in this area. We shut down for a while. We had no power for a couple of weeks, but our employees were without water for over two months. It took us a good three months to get back to normal production.” https://balsambanjoworks.com/

The Inn at Little Washington The culinary capitals of the world—Paris, Tokyo, New York—are flush with award-winning dining institutions. These establishments often feature sleek, modern dining rooms or historic spaces with centuries of prestige, helmed by chefs with years of classical training. Their menus showcase rare ingredients, intricate plating, and a level of service that borders on theater. It’s the kind of dining experience one expects in a bustling metropolis, where access to luxury is the norm. But in the rolling hills of Appalachia, far from the glitz of Michelin’s usual selections, one restaurant has defied expectations, proving that world-class dining can thrive in a region dedicated to a sense of place and local food. The Inn at Little Washington, located in Washington, Va., opened in 1978 under the vision of Patrick O’Connell. A self-taught chef who believed world-class cuisine could—and should—exist outside of big cities, O'Connell transformed a former garage into what is now one of the most celebrated restaurants in America. O’Connell, a native of Washington, D.C., created an alliance with local farmers and artisanal producers more than 40 years ago out of necessity because nothing other than milk was delivered to the town, which had a total population of 133 at the time. He pioneered a regional American cuisine on the corner of Main and Middle streets in the tiny Virginia village 67 miles west of the nation’s capital. While paying homage to classical French cuisine, his approach to cooking reflects O’Connell’s belief in American cuisine today — “healthy, eclectic, imaginative, unrestricted by ethnic boundaries and always growing” — which has earned him the nickname “the Pope of American cuisine.” “Patrick O'Connell weaves magic into every dish, transforming locally sourced ingredients into whimsical, artful creations that captivate the senses,” reads The Inn at Little Washington’s website. Under his leadership, the restaurant has earned two AAA five-diamond awards. O’Connell and The Inn at Little Washington have won six James Beard Foundation awards, including Restaurant of the Year (1993) and the Lifetime Achievement Award (2019). The Michelin Guide awarded The Inn at Little Washington three Michelin Stars in 2019, a distinction it has retained, and in 2021, it received the Michelin Green Star for sustainability. The Michelin Star ranking system is one of the most prestigious awards in the culinary world. Initially created in 1926 by the Michelin tire company to encourage automobile travel to exceptional restaurants, it is today used by Michelin’s anonymous inspectors to assess restaurants based on five criteria: quality of ingredients, mastery of cooking techniques, harmony of flavors, consistency, and the chef’s personality reflected in the cuisine. One star signifies “a very good restaurant,” two stars denote “excellent cooking, worth a detour,” and three stars represent “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.” Earning even a single star is a mark of excellence, while three stars place a restaurant among the best in the world. “Chef Patrick O’Connell has long been the steward of this idyllic restaurant just outside Washington. In a town whose very existence seems tied to his success, dinner here recalls another era. The dining room is embellished to the very last inch, with fringe and fabric all over, patterned carpets, and lush wallpaper,” reads the Michelin Guide. “The menu is divided between classics and vegetables, most of which are sourced locally and from the team’s own garden. Dinner always begins with pimento cheese packed into a crisp chip and ends with a playful pear dessert. In between, courses like lobster with caviar beurre blanc show the kitchen at its very best. And all throughout, roaming bread and cheese carts are a reminder of a luxury that’s less and less common.” Even with its international acclaim, The Inn at Little Washington remains deeply tied to its Appalachian roots. O’Connell has spent decades championing regional ingredients and suppliers, showing that world-class dining doesn’t have to rely on imports from France or Japan. Indigenous products are sourced from local farmers, ranchers, and the Inn at Little Washington’s own garden. The truffles? Foraged in Virginia. The cheese? Sourced from nearby farms. The herbs? Grown right outside the kitchen. “We employ two full-time farmers on the property and five gardeners. We utilize our own greenhouses for herbs and lettuces, and a beekeeper takes care of hives which supply our own honey,” O’Connell said in the Michelin Guide. When The Inn at Little Washington was awarded three stars, it wasn’t just a victory for O’Connell—it was a statement that fine dining belongs in Appalachia. The Inn at Little Washington, once a humble garage in a tiny Virginia mountain town, has transformed into a world-renowned culinary destination and is paving the way for future Appalachian restaurants to join it. The Inn at Little Washington is the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Appalachia—not just one star, not two—three—but not the last.

Justin Holes & the Immutable String Band Justin Holmes hopes that thousands of years from now, AI will realize that one of humanity's main efforts has been to preserve, cultivate, and remix traditional music. “This flurry of blockchain activity is evidence for that realization,” Justin says. “We are focused on preserving metadata of the corpus of traditional.” A software engineer by trade, Justin transitioned into music full-time in 2022. He grew up in Binghamton, a small town in upstate New York, where he developed a lifelong interest in music and musical instruments. Justin remembers a time before the internet was prevalent. That is significant because now his young son, Fibonacci, has grown up with the internet. “We used to ask our parents about things, then a ‘why.’ My kid and his friends have a more focused inquiry available to them. That’s exciting because I think it’s one of the reasons traditional music is making quite a comeback.” Justin says he was first drawn to bluegrass and traditional music because they are rooted in cypherpunk. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, cypherpunk refers to “an individual who advocates for the widespread use of strong cryptography and privacy-enhancing technologies as a means of effecting social and political change.” There’s more. Before the advent of the internet and record companies, traditional music was passed down from person to person, and there was no charge for it. “It may surprise you to learn that the cornerstones of today’s internet are due in part to The Grateful Dead,” Justin continued. “While I’m not a huge Grateful Dead fan, I have respect for the stewardship of the music they played. The reason for the congruence was their realization that copyrights inhibited them instead of boosting them. They always allowed people to record and share their shows, and today that is the single most important vector for the way traditional music works on the internet.” When his band’s last album was produced, Justin says it was released as an encrypted record. “The decryption key was released by a smart contract that required ten ethers ($28,000) to activate. That money was raised in six days. At that moment, the record was free to anyone, everywhere. Now there is forever a record of who contributed on the blockchain.” Justin says they have a similar system for the merchandise at their shows. “To prove they were at our show, people can purchase a ticket stub on the way out the door.” There is nothing predictable about a Justin Holmes and the Immutable String Band show. No two shows are the same. “We are a musical string band,” says Justin. “Each instance we play is its own instance. When I play, I play to serve the groove. There are several considerations, such as the piece we are playing and the audience listening to it. I’m not necessarily focused on entertaining the audience. It’s more about servicing the music in that moment.” A blend of traditional bluegrass music with lyrics for modern times, the band has a small but loyal following. “We primarily play at crypto events,” Justin explains. “There is a huge underculture of Deadheads who attend those events. We do bluegrass workshops at crypto events where we teach prominent pickers how to code. Just today, I was working with Jake Stargel, who is learning git, JavaScript, and Ethereum contract design. Our primary educational venture at the moment is teaching pickers how to write compelling decentralized applications.” Wherever the band plays, they try to incorporate local musicians, like Pepa Lopera, a fiddler in Bogota. “They may be street performers or someone who has been recommended to us. We typically invite them to join us for an entire set.” The members of the band are fluid. “We draw from a pool of about twenty musicians,” Justin says. Most of those are seasoned musicians who have made a name for themselves in the world of bluegrass. Cory Walker toured with Sierra Hull and The SteelDrivers and worked with David Grier. Justin described him as a “generational oddity on the banjo” when he heard Cory play “John Hardy” with Billy Strings in St. Augustine. Cory is also a member of East Nash Grass. Other band members also played with Justin Holmes and the Immutable String Band. Cory Walker (banjo) and Harry Clark (mandolin), both members of East Nash Grass, joined Justin on the Vowel Sounds  album, recorded in Stargel Studios in Nashville and released in 2023. Jake Stargel produced and engineered the album, and he also played upright bass. Other musicians on the album include Christian Ward (fiddle), Jakub Vysoky (mandolin), and Allen Cooke (dobro). An interesting aspect of their music is Justin’s use of throat singing. “The first time I heard it, the friend I was with had to convince me that the sound I was hearing was a human voice. I looked into it and learned that all of music history is in service of vibration. The technique I use is influenced by Tuvin throat-singing, although I sing with a softened pallet, similar to a yodel.” The band will be releasing a new record soon called 4Masks . “I’m excited about this album,” Justin says. “There are four different ensembles on the album, including Skyler Golden, Sam Grisman, Cory Walker, Kyle Tuttle, Maddie Denton, John Mailander, Jake Stargel, David Grier, Harry Clark, Kaitlyn Raitz, and Lauren Luz.” https://justinholmes.com/ensemble

Jenny Don't Colorful country-western group Jenny Don’t and the Spurs is all about recreating the vintage western look and sound of the old western frontier. The nostalgia of the past combines with new, original music inspired by rural roots and a love for simpler times.   The first thing most people notice about Jenny Don’t and the Spurs is their showy Western outfits. Fans of bluegrass group The Kody Norris Show might understand the appeal of echoing the old styles of country western.   “We all love the classic look, and after decades of baggy T-shirts and jeans and tennis shoes being more or less acceptable stage wear in country music, we feel like someone has got to take a stand,” joked the group’s namesake and vocal lead, Jenny Don’t. “But seriously…we really love the classic country aesthetic, but we could never afford vintage Nudie suits, or even to have someone custom make modern ones.”   The solution was simple; she started creating stage outfits herself.   “We have a strong DIY ethic, and we feel like things that you can make yourself are always better and more ‘real’ than just buying something off the shelf, so I figured I’d better learn to make my own clothes,” she explained. “I make or customize most of my stage outfits, as well as the outfits that my husband – Spurs bassist Kelly – wears.”   “I think the one-of-a-kind nature of our stage wear helps to attract – and then hopefully hold – people’s attention long enough to give our music a listen.”   She said they strive to offer “a mix of cool aesthetic and great music, and if we can accomplish both of those things, then we’ll have done our job.”   She added that the Spurs’ guitarist often adds an authentic vintage touch to the band’s look. He has a collection of old western wear, and he’s “got a great eye for finding the true old stuff!”   The current lineup includes Jenny Don’t, Christopher March on guitar, Buddy Weeks on drums, and Kelly Halliburton on bass.   As is the case with many country performers, growing up far from the hustle and bustle of a big city affected the group’s work in terms of inspiration and themes.   “A few of us in the band grew up in rural environments, and I definitely feel like this had an impact on us,” Jenny Don’t said. “Growing up in the country gives one a different perspective on things, I think, than an urban upbringing does.”   That perspective was challenged and enhanced while gigging abroad. She became fascinated with exploring cultures she hadn’t been exposed to in childhood.   “As a kid, I never really thought I would ever be able to travel to Europe or anything like that, especially not to play music,” she reminisced. It wasn’t until she met bass player Kelly Halliburton that exploring through travel was possible. Eventually, he would become her husband.    “He had been touring around the world since the early ‘90s, and I am incredibly thankful he was able to show me how it's done,” she said. Her first trip to Europe was in 2010, and she said she was hooked immediately on travel. That’s when – and why – they decided to start the Spurs.   “It's a really rewarding feeling that I now get to travel around the world with my best friend, playing songs we wrote together,” she added.   Over the past year, the band has been chiefly touring in support of the June 2024 release of Broken Hearted Blue .   “This record is the fourth full-length that we've released, and I feel like it's the beginning of a new chapter for our band,” she explained. “This is the first record with our current drummer, Buddy Weeks, since our longtime drummer, Sam Henry, passed away from cancer in early 2022. So, it's really important to all of us. It represents our decision to keep moving forward and working together in the loss while looking toward the future. This being said it is by no means a sad album. Very opposite, in fact. It's a culmination of ideas and inspirations all melded together, Spurs-style.”   The band just finished its eighth European tour, an extensive outing that filled May and June. Next up are some dates throughout the American Midwest. Then, they’ll finish off the summer with a round of appearances on the West Coast, including events such as the Hopped-Up Chopper show in Seattle, the Donner Party Picnic in Grass Valley, Calif., and a variety of festivals, including the Pick-a-Thon in Portland.   “Somewhere in there, we also have to find the time to sit down and work on our next record,” she added, explaining that’s not an easy task for them, being such road warriors.   It’s difficult to resist that lure of the open road and the always-nagging inspiration wrought by wanderlust.

Max Wareham is a bit of an old soul. From archaeological digs to translating medieval poetry, Max feels most at home with one foot in the past. That includes his commitment to early innovators of the banjo shines on DAGGOMIT!,  his debut album of soulful original songs, highlighted by the hard-driving chemistry of Nashville’s preeminent bluegrass stars, each steeped in the same musical tradition Max holds so dear. For two years, Max has been playing with the Peter Rowan Band. “I have learned a lot,” he says. “And during that time, I have been doing a lot of writing songs of my own. This album is an offshoot of what I had been doing with Peter Rowan’s band.” With a solid collection of songs under his belt, Max was ready to put them into an album Peter Rowan would produce. He called upon some of the best artists in the business to join him. Chris Eldridge and David Grier are on guitar, Laura Orshaw is on fiddle, Chris Henry is on mandolin, Mike Bub is on bass, and Larry Atamanuik is on snare drum. The thirteen songs on the album tell stories from a lifetime of experiences and feelings. A single from the album, “ Hard Times Are Far Behind ,” was released before the album’s February release. Co-written with Rowan, the mid-tempo number finds the narrator mid-tale, far from home, and looking forward to returning to a familiar place: “Where the river flows in the laurel groves.” The song is a glimpse into the world Max has created for his anticipated debut. “I grew up listening to albums,” says Max. “I loved listening to classic albums by The Beatles and the Beach Boys. I liked seeing how they sequenced their songs. To me, sequencing an album is a fun kind of puzzle to solve – it’s part of the process I really enjoy.” One thing Max noticed in some of those old albums was that the last track on the first side always seemed to be something a bit experimental. “I decided to put one of my more adventuresome tracks as the last song on side one of my albums.” The song is “Gone, Baby, Gone,” featuring Peter Rowan on vocals. As far as the scope of the material, Max reiterates that he is really interested in early bluegrass music. “Those early innovators of style played with a soulfulness that is easy to overlook in contemporary bluegrass. I enjoy exploring different ways to make the music feel alive through the arrangements. We only did a few takes of each song – I think that makes the music feel more alive. We also used some old recording techniques such as using snare drums with brushes and a kind of echo rockabilly slap-back like what Elvis used to do.” The album was recorded in October 2023 on “the last warm day of the year” at The Tractor Shed in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. “It’s a beautiful place -- the property that once belonged to Grandpa Jones from Hee Haw ,” says Max. “Sean Sullivan was our engineer.” Max tours with his band, Max Wareham and the National Bluegrass Team. The team features international mandolin prodigy Jean Baptiste Cardineau, singer and guitarist Jack Holland, and Emma Turoff on bass. maxwareham.com

Mountain Fever Records in Floyd, VA, Became a Powerhouse Label for Bluegrass, with offshoot Morning Glory Records Making Its Noise in Gospel. The Gospel Plowboys with Mountain Fever Records Mountain Fever Records COO Amanda Cook can run a record label, cut a new album, and direct you to the best breakfast in Southwest Virginia, all using only her own two hands. Bluegrass music label Mountain Fever Records has always been about more than just business. It’s about family, artists finding a home, and a sound that makes listeners feel like they’ve stepped into the very heart of bluegrass. But if you’re wondering what mountain gave the label its name, Cook has the answer. “We’re in a mountain, this region in southwest Virginia,” she says. “There’s not necessarily a mountain; it’s just multiple mountains.” Cook says Mountain Fever founder Mark Hodges built this label on the region's music, using his deep community ties to foster a space where bluegrass could grow. “Mark had multiple businesses in Floyd County, Virginia,” Cook said, “being born and raised here, so he was really involved with the community. I mean, if you walk into any store in Floyd, everyone knows who Mark Hodges is. The bottom line is he’s always been a music lover and always super involved, so in 2008, he came up with this idea to start a record label.” That reputation gave Hodges the momentum to turn Mountain Fever into one of the premier bluegrass labels in the country. With its first major act to sign, the Spinney Brothers from Canada, the label quickly acquired Volume Five, building a roster with artists who weren’t just talented but had something distinct to say through their music. “It has truly been a privilege to bring all of this music to fans all over the world,” Hodges says. “It still gets me excited every time I hear something new and innovative.” Now, at nearly 69 years old, Hodges is starting to step back, handing the reins over to Cook while still keeping an eye on the label’s evolving role in bluegrass. “I’m working hard to retire, but I’m still hanging around the office, so to speak. What I’ve built, I’ve handed over to Amanda, who is helping to continue the growth of the label and keeping it running smoothly as we transition constantly to maintain our foothold in the bluegrass genre. It changes every day.” Cook understands the importance of balancing tradition with innovation. “I think from the beginning I think Mark was looking for people that were self-motivated, determined and also a showing a unique creativity,” she says. “I think the common thread among all of the bands is each artist’s unique creativity. That’s what we look for – we don’t want a cookie-cutter. We want a band that’s different from the band before them.” In 2019, the company launched Morning Glory Music, a label dedicated to bluegrass gospel. “I think because Mark wanted the gospel bands on their own label to set them out in front on their own. We’re supporting acts within an industry and giving specialized attention to these bluegrass gospel bands,” Cook says, noting that gospel bluegrass is its own niche; having a separate label gives artists better access to the right audience on radio stations that only play bluegrass gospel. That market is no small niche either, with an estimated 500 radio stations Morning Glory targets to play their artists. Meanwhile, the broader bluegrass industry has shifted dramatically. As streaming takes over, Mountain Fever has adapted. “Who would've thought that a car modification, meaning removing a CD player from a vehicle, would impact a full industry the way that it has?” Cook says. “CD sales are done. We see physical products as a phenomenon that’s a souvenir now, rather than people buying something to listen and to cherish. Luckily Mark was able to join forces with Syntax (a digital music distributor) out of Nashville several years ago, and they’ve been an incredible addition to the team, being in the know of all the industry changes,” Cook says. “Certainly, the industry has changed dramatically since my first record in 2017 with Mountain Fever. It’s a totally different world.” Even as technology evolves, Mountain Fever remains rooted in the traditional recording process. “We still have a very high standard for our release recording, and I don’t ever see that changing,” Cook said. “We will stick to that tradition of having people come in and cut a record in a studio with an engineer. I think that will never change.” That commitment to authenticity is what keeps artists coming back. “Breaking Grass is one of the bands that’s been with Mountain Fever forever,” Cook says. “I think that’s a common thing among them, it’s once they get here, once they come on, they stay. And that’s one of the things I love about it. We wanna keep the bands with us for a long time.” April and May are packed with new releases, including Mason Via’s self-titled album in late April, the David Mayfield Parade album on May 16th, and a new Volume Five album dropping on May 23rd. Each record offers something different, yet they all carry the unmistakable Mountain Fever imprint. Cook never imagined she’d be where she is today—running one of the most respected bluegrass labels in the industry. “I never thought that I’d be sitting here as a label executive,” she says. “But I really do. I’m thankful for Mark giving me the opportunities that he’s afforded me, and I absolutely love what I do. I’m so proud of the artists that we have, what they’re doing and what this year holds.” Connecting the label’s passion for supporting its artists to its high standards in musicianship and recording, Mountain Fever seems to be a fever that won’t be breaking anytime soon.

Photo by Rob Laughter Pushing musical boundaries, the International Bluegrass Music Association Award-winning banjoist Tray Wellington says his latest album, Detour to the Moon, is about evolving as a musician. His unique take on rapper Kid Cudi’s song “Pursuit of Happiness” proves his ability to adapt banjo to music styles such as hip hop. “Over the pandemic I started listening to a lot of different music to get inspired and Kid Cudi was actually one of the artists that really helped me out through the tough times,” recalls Tray whose genre blending is causing a buzz. “The opening track, ‘Moon in Motion’ 1 practically wrote itself,” shares the young North Carolina banjoist. “I wrote the song in twenty minutes.” Tray, who formed his band, The Tray Wellington band in 2020, says he’s excited about the song’s possibilities. “After the band and I arranged the first one, I thought ‘Man, this was so cool!’ So, I want to have a second and a third part that will be released later.” The band leader salutes Jazz giant Duke Ellington with his swinging version of the iconic song “Caravan.”  “I have always loved Duke Ellington. I obviously love the music of Bill Keith as well [who] covered the song back in the 1970s. I decided that it would be cool to do a new version and have my own take on the tune.” Tray believes the positive reception he has received from music critics and fans for his 2022 release Black Banjo and his latest record Detour to the Moon  is due to his unique musical approach. “I think people are always searching for a new voice in music.” Tray says he was shaped musically by what he heard as a child. “Growing up I had all the different musical worlds. My grandpa was a classic rock and country fan, and my mom was a big classic hip hop fan.” Despite music not running in the family, Tray says that his passion to learn instruments kept growing. “My first instrument was the trombone, and at age 13, I switched to electric guitar,” recalls Tray, who says discovering his grandfather’s Doc Watson CD was a game changer. “There was a club at my middle school at the time called The Mountain Music Club, where they taught traditional guitar and banjo. I started learning a little bit of flat picking and bluegrass rhythm guitar.” One day, Tray’s teacher introduced him to a new instrument. “My teacher pulled out a banjo and started playing “Salt Creek” and I thought to myself, ‘Man that sounds so cool!’ That day I decided I wanted to play the banjo!” Tray describes his banjo playing as having more rhythm. “I think that is partially a hip-hop influence. Sometimes I put on a song that I like, whether it is hip hop or jazz, and I won’t even play chords. I’ll just do the rhythm on my right hand.” As a musician, Tray is always looking to learn from other types of music, including prog metal. “It’s about taking these little inspirations from different styles of music and figuring out how they work within your style.  “I would like to think that I have my own style of banjo playing,” explains Tray when asked how he compares himself to other banjo players. “I think everybody has an individual voice on their instrument. When it comes to Earl or Béla, they both have their unique voices, and I think I’m the same way.” Besides touring with The Tray Wellington Band, the rising star performs with his all-black string band, New Dangerfield. “I am super excited for New Dangerfield. Since starting the band, it has been so nice to continue the tradition of black string band music and to put our own twist on the tradition.” As for plans, the banjoist says he has new projects ahead. “I’m working on a new EP coming out in 2025 and simultaneously working on a solo project,” adding, “I feel very proud about the music I have made over the last few years. I feel inspired to push myself musically   and have every album be my voice --yet a different version of that voice!”

Mason Via It’s an exciting summer for Mason Via. After three years with Old Crow Medicine Show, he’s married, he’s moved, and he’s touring with his own band to support a new album. And this American Idol alum--he made it to the final 24 contestants in 2021--is happy to be back in bluegrass.   “I grew up around fiddles and banjos, and I like hearing the music that I create with fiddles and banjos and mandolins and acoustic instruments,” says Via. “This is who I am and how I think of music.”   The new self-titled album reflects his love for the music he grew up with. The energy and expertise of the musicians were such that several songs were recorded on the first take. “That was (producer) Aaron Ramsey's whole style of doing it,” Via explains. “He was like, ‘If you do three takes and you don't get it, you ain't gonna get it.’   “Ronnie Bowman, Junior Sisk, and Rhonda Vincent all sang on the album, and I'm super excited for people to hear that,” Via continues. “Ronnie is on two songs. He and Junior sing on this song, ‘Oh Lordy Me,’ which just sounds like it's going to be a jam hit eventually. It’s got a real easy chorus to sing along to. It's just about growing up in the Blue Ridge Mountains. And then the other one, Ronnie and Rhonda are singing this trio with me on. It's called ‘Mountain Lullaby,’ and it just sounds so classic. And me and Rhonda and Ronnie, that blend was like money, you know? So, I can’t wait for people to hear it.”   Via’s got the credentials to write songs about growing up in the Blue Ridge Mountains.   “I've spent most of my time riding that state line between Patrick County, Va., and Stokes County, N.C.,” he says. His father, David, a noted singer/songwriter and bluegrass and folk musician, was his first musical influence and took him to festivals and fiddling contests at an early age. And the fiddle is one of the first instruments Mason took up. “The only tune that I really knew was something called ‘Mule on the Tracks.’ Maybe that's just what Dad called it because it was basically just me making the worst noise ever, you know.”   Though he was always surrounded by all kinds of music, especially bluegrass, his experiences in a local drama troupe led him to consider becoming an entertainer.   “That was kind of my first window into performance,” he explains. “But by the time high school hit, I started to realize that it’s a lot of sitting around and you're not getting paid. And it's a lot more fun to just hang out with your buddies and play music, and then you're the star all the time or whatever. And that's what I liked. And then you get paid sometimes, too.”   Amid the Covid pandemic, Via was selected to participate in the American Idol  competition. The necessary Covid protocols complicated the program's high-stakes, high-pressure nature. But Via believes it served as a boot camp to prepare him for the next big opportunity that almost immediately came his way: touring as an Old Crow Medicine Show member.   “It helped me to go into that audition with them to feel at ease. I wasn't as nervous because I had just dealt with something that was very anxiety-inducing-- playing in front of all those people, famous movie stars and stuff like that.”   After his successful audition, Via began a three-year apprenticeship with one of the biggest bands in Americana and acoustic music. He’d only toured close to home before boarding the OCMS bus. Now, he was in a group that headlined shows at large venues and toured for days on end. Their exuberance and openness inspired Via.   “What I loved about them was there was never this kind of ‘bluegrass’ sense of, ‘No, that's not the way you do it,’ or ‘That isn't good enough' kind of thing. And it was honestly a great space to have as a learning ground. Another thing I learned about them musically is that you don't have to be the most virtuosic musician in the world to play something that has meaning and brings a lot of joy to everybody. And then on top of that, sometimes some of that fancy stuff is worse.”   Now Via’s going alone with his own band on a summer tour that includes playing RockyGrass, one of the nation's leading festivals. Though the learning curve is steep, he’s excited to be back in bluegrass and calling the shots.   “The biggest part of that kind of thing is just making sure everybody has enough money, and they're okay with traveling across the country and sleeping in like a Motel Six or whatever because that's the hard truth of some of it. You know, we're sleeping on somebody's floor. But, that's kind of the dream of having a band of brothers like that.”

Many of us stray from our origins, seeking to expand our horizons and experience new things. Over the years, though, we often sate that wanderlust and find our way back to the things we loved as kids. As we go through life, the nostalgia and comfort of all we first knew sometimes come back to us again in a fierce way. When it inevitably returns, we appreciate it with a new depth and new understanding. In the case of singer, songwriter, actress and dancer Justyna Kelley, her passion for world travel—including living in France—showed her the true value of her Nashville roots. “I do love world music. I love culture. I love traveling,” Kelley explained. She loved it so much that she studied French (along with Theater and English) in college and would eventually become fluent in French and Italian. “The first time I ever went to France was for a bluegrass/country festival in the south of France,” Kelley said. “I fell in love with the culture and the language. I ended up signing a record deal for my first album in Paris.” In 2016, Kelley began writing songs for a French music company. Around the same time, one of her albums, “Nashville, Tennessee,” was nominated for a Mark Award for “Best Country Album.” In 2019, she was part of a project that reached the #1 slot as a songwriter on the Grassicana charts. “Anything to Help You Say Goodbye” is a song she’d co-written with Steve Cropper and her mother, Irene Kelley, for her mom’s bluegrass album, “Benny’s TV Repair.” With her career as an actress taking off and her songs beginning to be featured in film and TV – including shows such as “NCIS: New Orleans” – she had come far from where she started, as a child actor in commercials. She is now involved in many parts of the entertainment scene. In addition to doing voice-over and other film work in Nashville, Los Angeles and Paris, Kelley released her most recent solo record, the pop album Canon, in 2023. She, of course, said growing up as the daughter of a successful singer and songwriter influenced her creative life in a big way. In many ways, she’s walked in her mom’s footsteps. “I just grew up in the whole music scene. Music was always playing in the house. Jam sessions were in the house.” Now, those bluegrass roots of old have gripped her tightly yet again. Although she’d sang backup with her mom before – and opened for her shows – they’d never done a full-scale performance project together. Recently, that changed with Women Of Kelly, a new bluegrass trio that includes her mom and sister (Sara Jean). “Over the years, many people have approached us about this or suggested it,” Kelley said. “But we just really didn’t get together as a group to fully commit to a family project.” In 2023, that changed with a family Christmas record. “It was so much fun, and we got a lot of traction from that album,” she said. New singles have already come out, and a whole new record of Women of Kelley originals is expected to drop before the end of 2025. In a way, it marks a new chapter in this performer's life who said she’s been at it since age six or seven. “It really took me going so far away to appreciate my heritage,” Kelley explained. She said that after living in France – and traveling extensively, including in China – she started to take a fresh look at – and really appreciate – the music she grew up with. “I found my way back,” Kelley explained. “I would come back to the country and bluegrass. I would keep getting called to do country. The more I tried to run away from my roots, the more it caught up with me. I realized…this is who I am.” “This project [Women of Kelley] is so exciting for me because if anyone asks who my base influence is, it’s always my mom,” she explained. “Family connection is a huge part of the bluegrass story. Even for people who aren’t singers, it still gets to them on a human level. It’s a very American story that resonates.”

Thomm Jutz grew up in Germany’s Black Forest, but he’s very much at home with the music of Appalachia. That’s one reason this successful composer, performer, and session musician became an American citizen and relocated to the United States in his thirties. Jutz’s fascination with the region and one of its native sons—guitarist and songwriter Norman Blake—has led him to pursue a graduate degree in Appalachian studies and write “An Acute Sense of Place: The Songs of Norman Blake” for his thesis. “I was not born into a place that spoke to me,” Jutz explains in the paper. “The place where I was born, Germany, had lost its lore and song through the perversions of the Third Reich. Country and bluegrass music have provided me with such a place since I first heard it as an eleven-year-old boy. Later, in my early thirties, Nashville gave me a place to play, write, learn, and grow.” Jutz studied classical guitar in Germany and had a busy career as a musician there before he and his wife relocated to the U.S. “When I moved to Nashville, I thought I was going to be a guitar player on lower Broadway for 10 years,” he says. “I've never played a gig on lower Broadway in the 20 years I’ve been here, but a lot of other things happened that I couldn't have planned.” Jutz has dozens of songs recorded by John Prine, The Steeldrivers, Balsam Range, and many others. He’s toured with notable musicians, including Nanci Griffith and Mary Gauthier. He’s collaborated on albums exploring The Civil War and Mac Wiseman’s amazing life in bluegrass, and he teaches songwriting at Belmont University in Nashville. He’s had hundreds of his songs placed in TV shows and motion pictures. Jutz says he’s first and foremost a songwriter. And while he’s fascinated with history, he’s not much interested in nostalgia, one of bluegrass’s preoccupations. “I don't really think that we need more songs and bluegrass music about grandfather's hands or grandma's soup recipes or something,” says Jutz. “I think we've heard those, and there was a time when people could sing these songs with conviction. We can still sing those songs, but I'm not sure that we still need to write them. “I don't consider myself a bluegrass songwriter. I got a lot of cuts in bluegrass music, but to me, there's no difference between writing Americana music or country music. At the end of the day, you have to write about what you care about. To some degree, you can also write about things you don't care about, which is fine and part of the craft, but it might not be as rewarding.” The subjects of the songs on Wall Dogs, a 2024 album recorded with frequent collaborator Tim Stafford, include Depression-era muralists; the women who made Gibson guitars during WWII labor shortages; a trans-Canadian railway; and notorious sundown towns in the South. Song ideas frequently come from his avid reading of history. Jutz had long wanted to study his adopted region. When the pandemic took away his road work, he saw it as a chance to begin a graduate degree in Appalachian Studies at East Tennessee State University. For his thesis, Jutz wrote about the legendary guitarist and singer/songwriter Norman Blake, who set many of his songs around Rising Fawn, Ga., the Appalachian community where he’s spent most of his life. Jutz explores three such songs in the paper, including “Green Light on the Southern,” in which Blake shares many details of the steam locomotives that fascinated him growing up. “Somebody says if one wanted to understand the basic mechanics of a steam locomotive, that song wouldn't be a bad place to start,” Jutz notes. “Why do we care? A great songwriter like Blake can make us care about it. You see the magic of these elements working together and this huge massive thing in motion, and you know it's just gorgeous, and there's such poetry to the language. And then it's also an incredible melody, and to me, the version with Tony Rice and Norman is one of the greatest recordings ever made.” In the coming months, Jutz plans to tour Ireland with musical collaborator Eric Brace, play shows with Stafford to promote Wall Dogs, have many co-writing appointments, and work on a solo recording project. He also wants to turn his thesis about Blake into a book on the artist who has so affected him. “When I discovered Norman Blake’s music, something shifted in me as a songwriter,” writes Jutz in the paper. “Notions to please the mainstream fell by the wayside. Along with that, I discovered a purity in the music that was and is reflected in the Appalachian landscape. Today I spend a considerable amount of time in Johnson City, Tenn. I have found a place to write about, and I have Blake to thank for leading me there through his songs.”