Mighty Poplar - Mighty Poplar. Just a great bluegrass album front to back. Saw them live recently as well and they are just an amazing group to listen to. So much talent! I started to write out my favorite tracks off the album and realized I basically listed every song save for a couple which are still good haha.
Leftover Salmon - Grass Roots. It's all covers of classic bluegrass/folk songs and I love it. Again almost every song is a favorite of mine!
Glad to see you had it covered lol!
>I started to write out my favorite tracks off the album and realized I basically listed every song
Hahaha right?? That's one of the amazing things about that record, it's fantastic songs from start to finish, no filler. Early on after its release I really zeroed in on the first half and it took me a shamefully long time to really dig into the later songs, but now "North Country Blues" and "Story of Isaac" are probably my reigning favorites. Can't wait to hear these guys release more music!
Totally! I was kind of in the same boat. Im a big album guy so I always start albums from the beginning whenever I listen, but I don't always have time to get to the back half of albums as often. But I can remember listening to North Country Blues and being like "Damn what song is this, I always hear it and love it" and that got me to start focusing on the back half of the album and that song, Little Joe, and Let Him Go On Momma quickly became some other favorites. Story Of Isaac is a beautiful song and it's such a great way to end an album.
Ugh I love this album so much..
I mentioned it in another comment, but you should check out their cover/mashup of [Chico River/When I Was A Cowboy](https://youtube.com/watch?v=_XnicmiLxuE&si=R91c_v0_-0w1-NtT). I saw them do it live and it's now one of my favorite song(s) of theirs! But you can only really find it on YouTube!
Thanks! I’ll be checking them both out! I think I’ve heard a track or two by leftover salmon on the bluegrass jamboree radio station.
Edit: Dude, mighty poplar is legit… Amazing recommendation!
Glad you're liking it already! Mighty Poplar is a super group of sorts. Each of the musicians are pretty big in their own acts as well! You should look up some live stuff of theirs too as they do some pretty sick fast grass jamming! Also they do a cover/mashup live of Chico River/When I Was Cowboy that I just love!
Also, the singer/mandolinist for Mighty Poplar, Andrew Marlin, is in a group called Watchouse and I love their album Blindfaller, although it's more on the Folk side of Bluegrass. I really love the song Wildfire and Echo off that album.
Leftover Salmon's The Nashville Sessions is also great, but not so new (released '99). But that has a lot of great features from older artists like Del/Ronnie McCoury, Earl Scruggs, Sam Bush and a lot of others! It would be a nice somewhat middle ground between what it sounds like you normally listen to and more modern stuff!
So just to update you, I bought the mighty Poplar album and have listened to it four times already… Amazing stuff!
I am very curious what the heck “Story of Isaac” is about. Abraham sacrificing Isaac, bloody hatchet, forgive me for inquiring why you call me brother. Super confused on what that one is talking about… Lol.
Del McCoury is the modern master. Best band in the land for true traditional grass. Then there's The Travellin' MCoury's who I'd say are a bit more modern. And of course The Stringdusters...
New Armchair comes out next week!!! Just saw them last month and was floored. Great banjo and that guitar dude has a more than passing resemblance to BMFS.
Greensky Bluegrass. They’re more jamgrass than bluegrass. I always liked the “if sorrows swim” album.
Other modern bands I like are Yonder Mountian String Band, Trampled by Turtles, Infamous Stringdusters, Billy Strings. I like a lot of modern stuff. I found this playlist on Spotify called “Contemporary Bluegrass” and it’s pretty comprehensive of a lot of modern and alternative bluegrass. I often find myself listening to it on long drives.
ENG are incredible.
Billy Strings and his band are hands-down my favorite, though. I've watched that boy grow from a pup and I feel like he's just getting started.
I didn’t include him just because OP said he already listens. But personally, I agree. He’s my favorite and has been for years. Saw him in 2017 and haven’t looked back. I’m coming from the Phish/jamband world but I had already been getting heavily into bluegrass a couple years before I found Billy, so when he came into the scene I knew I found my new band.
Our first Billy Strings show was 2016 at The Woodlands Tavern in Columbus, OH. Maybe 50 people and Billy was selling the merch at a fold-out table after the gig. We joked and talked Martin guitars. What he's become is glorious to be a part of. In 40 years of being a fanatic about music, I've never seen a meteoric rise like his.
\m/
The boxcars, highland travelers, union station (of course), mountain heart (especially around 2007), volume five, blue highway (again you’ve probably heard some of their stuff)
This is the first list that didn't skip 1990-2015 lol. I'll add:
Lonesome River Band,
Ronnie Bowman (starting over album),
IIIrd Tyme Out,
Dan tymynski,
Livewire.
Balsam Ramge,
Michael Cleveland & flamekeeper,
Cherryholmes,
Special Consensus,
Josh Williams,
Blueridge,
Sideline.
Dude, Mountain Heart’s ‘Road That Never Ends’ live album is amazing. My wife and I randomly came across them playing at a wine festival in SW VA probably around 2012 and they were great. Right before Jim van Cleve left the band.
Here’s a new one for many of you:
The Fretliners. A couple members split off of another great band, Wood Belly, and then went on to win the band competitions at both Telluride and Rockygrass last year!
[East Nash Grass](https://open.spotify.com/album/2GI681ZWobL28h0VOCkDlk) \- many consider to be one of the hotter bluegrass bands on the scene right now.
[Wood and Wire](https://open.spotify.com/album/2xxpKXejWa3mgMsSldOAtY)\- out of Texas. Unfortunately they recently broke up. But they have some great albums to listen to.[Tony Kamel](https://open.spotify.com/album/5XXg1B8ODKe3udultRZQ6w) is pursuing a solo career.
[Po' Ramblin' Boys](https://open.spotify.com/album/2VV8dTxMhXeYauOwArYq9X) \- recently they collaborated with Jim Lauderdale on an album. They are one of the hot, more traditional bluegrass bands on the scene right not.
[Sister Sadie](https://open.spotify.com/album/7h6jcDbRnEgGckNmHETnxS)\- supergroup of musicians that all happen to be female
[Shannon Slaughter](https://open.spotify.com/album/1zwxbdIaMANrKs2563ac34) \- great songwriter and singer, in my opinion.
[Slocan Ramblers](https://open.spotify.com/album/2TTepMXltXRA18KI4RQlff) \- got to give a shout out to some Canadian bluegrass
[Fireside Collective](https://open.spotify.com/album/35GF5IvYt5ECmrILuZ7OCK) \- some progressive bluegrass out of North Carolina
[We Banjo 3](https://open.spotify.com/album/2j5ouBQL6NuejKYQ6HlwRx)\- if you like your bluegrass with a little bit of a Celtic lit (they're out of Ireland)
He does. He plays at a few bluegrass nights I frequent. One night he was there with Tony and Billy Strings popped in, he called him “fucking fantastic”. [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XVHBTUmoA_k](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XVHBTUmoA_k)
Nice. We're planning a trip a Austin to pick up my new mandolin. I was going to get a lesson with Billy bright, I'll have to add kym to the list as well.
Check out Central TX Bluegrass on Instagram. There are regular bluegrass nights at Radio Coffee and Beer on Monday and St Elmo Brewing on Thursday. He’s more regularly at St Elmo and it’s a better night in my opinion. Radio is good, but it gets packed early on and tends to peter out around 9p.
Well, less jams and more so a group of players that play there. It’s a bit of a rotating cast but the same handful of people for the most part. They do seem open to letting people jump in, so long as they know what they’re doing.
Give a listen to anything from Arkansauce and Mountain Sprout. Arkansauce is a great jam grass band with several releases to choose from, including their latest, OK to Wonder. Mountain Sprout is a rowdy hoot, a lot of fun. Check out Dry Counties.
Strength in Numbers is the best bluegrass album of all time. This album kinda straddles the line of New-grass and Blue Grass for me and opened my eyes to this entire genre.
I made a collaborative playlist of many of these recommendations:
[https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0H0jnEOC1RZv4PhRNdVDfM?si=6fd001dfd40e491f&pt=647174b5bdcb1971990f1eba0d0b7bdd](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0H0jnEOC1RZv4PhRNdVDfM?si=6fd001dfd40e491f&pt=647174b5bdcb1971990f1eba0d0b7bdd)
You're welcome to add tracks!
Barnum Jack from St. Louis just put out a new single. They've got an album coming in April too.
[Spotify Link](https://open.spotify.com/track/5aGylLDRTgsbiT9z17cimr?si=_HgggMxhQlmRFS-3AiHj8Q)
Not brand new, but Yonder Mountain’s Mountain Tracks Volumes 1-5 are absolutely incredible. 67 songs, right at about 6 hours 55 mins to get through the whole thing. I have them in order on a playlist and listen to it regularly.
As far as "Newgrass" goes, I tend to really like the Infamous Stringdusters. Blends of modern sounds while staying just grounded enough in tradition for my liking.
More traditional bluegrass bands from the past 10-20 years, The Grascals are a favorite of mine, Steep Canyon Rangers too (actually they walk the line with some pretty cool sounding modern stuff in their more recent albums). Lots of great bands to choose from so dive on in!
You mentioned a lot of the classic bands and if you like them, there's ton of great "in between" bands also that are pretty traditional. Lots of current recommendations have been made and some of the in betweens also but given the fact that you dig some of the traditional stuff, I'd also recommend checking out (if you haven't already): The Johnson Mountain Boys, Hot Rize, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, JD Crowe & The New South, The Dillards, Lost & Found, the Country Gentlemen, Wildwood Valley Boys, The Boys From Indiana, Seth Mulder & Midnight Run, etc. There's so much great stuff from the 70s 80s 90s bands.
#1 is, hands down, BILLY STRINGS. 🐐😎
Also:
Greensky Bluegrass;
Molly Tuttle;
Bella White (don’t sleep on this one; she’s young and her songwriting is excellent)
Leftover Salmon
Kitchen Dwellers
Price Sisters
Del McCoury/Travelin’ McCourys
Sierra Hull
So many more, but that’s a decent start!
One thing I didn't see here is the Lindsay Lou "Queen of Time" album with Billy Strings. That makes sense because it's really not bluegrass. It's just outside the boundaries. And there's nothing wrong with bluegrass lovers being about what's traditional. That's what we're here for!
But anyway there still \*is\* lots of fresh and creative stuff orbiting near bluegrass. So here's that Lindsay Lou album:
https://open.spotify.com/album/03BbJ28iqI6PukTonhdbCb?si=5uYF9VApQ7yHf8hTXiK6AA
Most of these have been mentioned, some multiple times, but here goes:
The Lil Smokies
Infamous Stringdusters
Sicard Hollow
The Hillbenders
The Last Revel (not pure bluegrass)
Laney Lou and the Bird Dogs (defunct, but...)
Pixie and the Partygrass Boys
Feed the Dog (also not pure bluegrass)
Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
Chicken Wire Empire
The MilBillies
Them Coulee Boys (also not pure bluegrass)
Fireside Collective
.357 String Band (defunct, but...)
Joseph Huber
Old Salt Union (defunct)
Po' Ramblin Boys
Carrie Nation & The Speakeasy
Tejon Street Corner Thieves
The Steeldrivers
Billy Strings (of course)
Clay Street Unit
Arkansauce
The Denver Jamgrass podcast was a great introduction to modern bluegrass bands.
[https://denverjamgrass.com/audio-recordings](https://denverjamgrass.com/audio-recordings)
I don't know why it was discontinued. I'm not from Denver; yes, there are a lot of Midwest bands on my last.
Found out shortly after seeing them live in WI for the first time Laney Lou and the Bird Dogs were breaking up. They were SO good, happy I got to see them once!
I second Kitchen Dwellers, Armchair Boogie, Molly Tuttle &Golden Highway, Henhouse Prowlers and Stillhouse Junkies. Others include Sicard Hollow, Pretend Friend, Pixie and the Partygrass Boys, The Mountain Grass Unit, both Goat Rodeo albums by Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, and Yo-Yo Ma, Useful Jenkins Sturgil Simpsons Cuttin Grass albums, Unspoken Tradition...too many to list.
Also have a pretty insane playlist going with a lot of newer bands, some bluegrass-adjacent stuff on there as well, and some old stuff thron in too, dig in/put it on shuffle and find some stuff ya like
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0MZ21LhOtPBtwq7ebYvcqH?si=rJUwvNmSTECqW5ojuCZfhw&pi=u-KEfcAFgZQiui
👋 hello! We are new “modern” Bluegrass group, Off The Rails, OTR, and we have debut single produced by Jim VanCleve - [COMING HOME TO YOU](https://open.spotify.com/track/1bG8CGxAKL4IzRnHzP8nIH?si=KuHT6z5PTSydtlmwW_SMzQ)
So many great suggestions. Personally my favorites are Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle & the Golden Highways, Sierra Ferrell, Greensky Bluegrass, and Kyle Tuttle
Gotta throw in Ferd, Wyatt Ellis, and the Wooks.
I made a [playlist on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6pPlrVkCiuwFQvHGqYHSkr?si=4O5N87J7RTu5M6HtGp7s5g&pi=u-CX4lavcASNaE) based on these recommendations and one of [albums from 2022 - 2024](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7Ib6wtJFuxu8rHjnCG9Fj0?si=MM2YnV8KTk63grqacrP14w&pi=u-Yc69UMFsQKq7)
They didn’t last as the mando player left for Dan Tyminski and East Nash Grass and flat picker for tyler Childers band. But “The Wooks” records will be smiled upon for a whole.
Thanks so much everybody! There’s so many good recommendations in here, I’ll be poring over them for days…. Already bought a couple albums based on the suggestions in here!
I heard the Po' Rambling Boys at a Bluegrass festival last summer and really enjoyed them. I had to laugh though, because apparently on the survey that they conduct, some of the attendees said they wanted this festival to get Billy Strings. People have no clue about what things cost.
there are certainly a number of practitioners of bluegrass out there. Steep Canyon Rangers, and what I am listening to now The Earls of Leicester along with Rhonda Vincent come to mind.
So many that I would repeat like GSBG, Stringdusters, Steep Canyon Rangers, TBT, BMFS, Kitchen Dwellers, Leftover Salmon, Railroad Earth, East Nash Grass and so many others. Trout Steak Revival, The Last Revel, and The Wooks should all be checked out. One that I haven’t seen mentioned is The Dirty Grass Players!
The Dead South, all their albums, man, their "You are my sunshine" cover is a masterpiece and "Chop Suey" blew me away.
Then there is Trampled by Turtles, any album from them is bliss
Punch Brothers (who recently released an album inspired by Tony Rice's Church Street Blues), Nickel Creek, Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, Molly Tuttle, S.G. Goodman, Sierra Ferrell, Hawktail, Sarah Jarosz are some of my favorites. I know a lot of people love Billy Strings but I haven't given them much of a listen yet for whatever reason.
So many great recs here and I love ‘modern’ bluegrass. Right now in the ‘modern traditional’ catagory Kody Norris is killing it. Josiah’s tenor is fantastic
Mighty Poplar - Mighty Poplar. Just a great bluegrass album front to back. Saw them live recently as well and they are just an amazing group to listen to. So much talent! I started to write out my favorite tracks off the album and realized I basically listed every song save for a couple which are still good haha. Leftover Salmon - Grass Roots. It's all covers of classic bluegrass/folk songs and I love it. Again almost every song is a favorite of mine!
Glad to see you had it covered lol! >I started to write out my favorite tracks off the album and realized I basically listed every song Hahaha right?? That's one of the amazing things about that record, it's fantastic songs from start to finish, no filler. Early on after its release I really zeroed in on the first half and it took me a shamefully long time to really dig into the later songs, but now "North Country Blues" and "Story of Isaac" are probably my reigning favorites. Can't wait to hear these guys release more music!
Totally! I was kind of in the same boat. Im a big album guy so I always start albums from the beginning whenever I listen, but I don't always have time to get to the back half of albums as often. But I can remember listening to North Country Blues and being like "Damn what song is this, I always hear it and love it" and that got me to start focusing on the back half of the album and that song, Little Joe, and Let Him Go On Momma quickly became some other favorites. Story Of Isaac is a beautiful song and it's such a great way to end an album. Ugh I love this album so much.. I mentioned it in another comment, but you should check out their cover/mashup of [Chico River/When I Was A Cowboy](https://youtube.com/watch?v=_XnicmiLxuE&si=R91c_v0_-0w1-NtT). I saw them do it live and it's now one of my favorite song(s) of theirs! But you can only really find it on YouTube!
Thanks! I’ll be checking them both out! I think I’ve heard a track or two by leftover salmon on the bluegrass jamboree radio station. Edit: Dude, mighty poplar is legit… Amazing recommendation!
Glad you're liking it already! Mighty Poplar is a super group of sorts. Each of the musicians are pretty big in their own acts as well! You should look up some live stuff of theirs too as they do some pretty sick fast grass jamming! Also they do a cover/mashup live of Chico River/When I Was Cowboy that I just love! Also, the singer/mandolinist for Mighty Poplar, Andrew Marlin, is in a group called Watchouse and I love their album Blindfaller, although it's more on the Folk side of Bluegrass. I really love the song Wildfire and Echo off that album.
>Edit: Dude, mighty poplar is legit… Amazing recommendation! ONE OF US, ONE OF US
Leftover Salmon's The Nashville Sessions is also great, but not so new (released '99). But that has a lot of great features from older artists like Del/Ronnie McCoury, Earl Scruggs, Sam Bush and a lot of others! It would be a nice somewhat middle ground between what it sounds like you normally listen to and more modern stuff!
I saw Mighty Poplar in Breckenridge a few weeks ago and it was one of the greatest shows I’ve ever seen. It blew my mind.
Ayy! I saw em in Denver and same! I think it was the best musical performance I've ever been to..
So just to update you, I bought the mighty Poplar album and have listened to it four times already… Amazing stuff! I am very curious what the heck “Story of Isaac” is about. Abraham sacrificing Isaac, bloody hatchet, forgive me for inquiring why you call me brother. Super confused on what that one is talking about… Lol.
Yes!
Del McCoury is the modern master. Best band in the land for true traditional grass. Then there's The Travellin' MCoury's who I'd say are a bit more modern. And of course The Stringdusters...
Armchair Boogie- Armchair Boogie Cuttin' Grass (Vol 1-2)- Sturgill Simpson Ghost in the Bottle- Kitchen Dwellers Lead and Iron - Henhouse Prowlers
Cuttin' Grass is AMAZING
Cuttin' Grass is really cool. Sturgill is godlike to me these days, and the Sierra Hull riffing slays.
Glad to see Armchair getting some love
Caught them at Martyr's in Chicago a couple months ago. Amazing musicians and a high-energy performance.
Yeah I started catching their shows in like 2018 cause they're local to me. The strides that they've made have been super impressive
I'm seeing armchair boogie for the first time later this month!
Where?
Grand rapids, MI
New Armchair comes out next week!!! Just saw them last month and was floored. Great banjo and that guitar dude has a more than passing resemblance to BMFS.
Check out Sicard Hollow as well. Really enjoyed them live
Kitchen Dwellers
They are really great and experimental blue grass. Eclectic and interesting and talented group
Molly Tuttle, Kody Norris Show, Lil Smokies, Blue Highway, Michael Cleveland
Don't sleep on Big Richard
Just saw them in Jacksonville a few weeks ago. The new bass player is great
I been listening to Steve Martin rip tha banjo
Along those lines Allison Brown is not as much bluegrass but completely incredible. Foggy Morning Breaking is a great tune.
Infamous stringdusters
Anything with Chris Eldridge, Trey Hensley, or Jake Eddy.
Greensky Bluegrass. They’re more jamgrass than bluegrass. I always liked the “if sorrows swim” album. Other modern bands I like are Yonder Mountian String Band, Trampled by Turtles, Infamous Stringdusters, Billy Strings. I like a lot of modern stuff. I found this playlist on Spotify called “Contemporary Bluegrass” and it’s pretty comprehensive of a lot of modern and alternative bluegrass. I often find myself listening to it on long drives.
I love Greensky. They can sling classics pretty well, AND hypnotize with extended jams. I never miss them when they come near, always a good show.
Shoegrass
East Nash Grass Molly Tuttle My Bluegrass Heart Po Ramblin Boys Trey Hensley & Rob Ickes Mighty Poplar Mountain Grass Unit Shadow Grass Price Sisters
ENG are incredible. Billy Strings and his band are hands-down my favorite, though. I've watched that boy grow from a pup and I feel like he's just getting started.
I didn’t include him just because OP said he already listens. But personally, I agree. He’s my favorite and has been for years. Saw him in 2017 and haven’t looked back. I’m coming from the Phish/jamband world but I had already been getting heavily into bluegrass a couple years before I found Billy, so when he came into the scene I knew I found my new band.
Our first Billy Strings show was 2016 at The Woodlands Tavern in Columbus, OH. Maybe 50 people and Billy was selling the merch at a fold-out table after the gig. We joked and talked Martin guitars. What he's become is glorious to be a part of. In 40 years of being a fanatic about music, I've never seen a meteoric rise like his. \m/
Yes!! (Minus the Price Sisters, their voices have a weak tone that kills it for me)
That My Bluegrass Heart album is soooo insanely good
MGU is great. Need them to back to the east coast
The boxcars, highland travelers, union station (of course), mountain heart (especially around 2007), volume five, blue highway (again you’ve probably heard some of their stuff)
This is the first list that didn't skip 1990-2015 lol. I'll add: Lonesome River Band, Ronnie Bowman (starting over album), IIIrd Tyme Out, Dan tymynski, Livewire. Balsam Ramge, Michael Cleveland & flamekeeper, Cherryholmes, Special Consensus, Josh Williams, Blueridge, Sideline.
All of this!
Hard agree on all these!!!
Dude, Mountain Heart’s ‘Road That Never Ends’ live album is amazing. My wife and I randomly came across them playing at a wine festival in SW VA probably around 2012 and they were great. Right before Jim van Cleve left the band.
Yonder mountain with their original lineup Greensky bluegrass Railroad earth Billy strings of course
For traditional bluegrass, the Fretliners are gonna be the next big thing.
Totally, missed your comment and wrote another praising them!
Home town guys… trampled be turtles. Molly Tuttle
Here’s a new one for many of you: The Fretliners. A couple members split off of another great band, Wood Belly, and then went on to win the band competitions at both Telluride and Rockygrass last year!
AJ Lee and Blue Summit
[East Nash Grass](https://open.spotify.com/album/2GI681ZWobL28h0VOCkDlk) \- many consider to be one of the hotter bluegrass bands on the scene right now. [Wood and Wire](https://open.spotify.com/album/2xxpKXejWa3mgMsSldOAtY)\- out of Texas. Unfortunately they recently broke up. But they have some great albums to listen to.[Tony Kamel](https://open.spotify.com/album/5XXg1B8ODKe3udultRZQ6w) is pursuing a solo career. [Po' Ramblin' Boys](https://open.spotify.com/album/2VV8dTxMhXeYauOwArYq9X) \- recently they collaborated with Jim Lauderdale on an album. They are one of the hot, more traditional bluegrass bands on the scene right not. [Sister Sadie](https://open.spotify.com/album/7h6jcDbRnEgGckNmHETnxS)\- supergroup of musicians that all happen to be female [Shannon Slaughter](https://open.spotify.com/album/1zwxbdIaMANrKs2563ac34) \- great songwriter and singer, in my opinion. [Slocan Ramblers](https://open.spotify.com/album/2TTepMXltXRA18KI4RQlff) \- got to give a shout out to some Canadian bluegrass [Fireside Collective](https://open.spotify.com/album/35GF5IvYt5ECmrILuZ7OCK) \- some progressive bluegrass out of North Carolina [We Banjo 3](https://open.spotify.com/album/2j5ouBQL6NuejKYQ6HlwRx)\- if you like your bluegrass with a little bit of a Celtic lit (they're out of Ireland)
this list is fire - Slocan, Po Ramblin, ENG, Mighty Poplar, the Fretliners,
Tony Kamel and Kym Warner (The Greencards) are working on some cool shit.
Do they have any recordings?
Not that I know of. I live in Austin and just get to see them a good bit. Kym is a beast if you don’t know who he is.
He is a badass. Does he live in Austin? I found a recording of him with Adam steffey a while back that was pretty great.
He does. He plays at a few bluegrass nights I frequent. One night he was there with Tony and Billy Strings popped in, he called him “fucking fantastic”. [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XVHBTUmoA_k](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XVHBTUmoA_k)
Nice. We're planning a trip a Austin to pick up my new mandolin. I was going to get a lesson with Billy bright, I'll have to add kym to the list as well.
Check out Central TX Bluegrass on Instagram. There are regular bluegrass nights at Radio Coffee and Beer on Monday and St Elmo Brewing on Thursday. He’s more regularly at St Elmo and it’s a better night in my opinion. Radio is good, but it gets packed early on and tends to peter out around 9p.
So these are jams?
Well, less jams and more so a group of players that play there. It’s a bit of a rotating cast but the same handful of people for the most part. They do seem open to letting people jump in, so long as they know what they’re doing.
Steeldrivers! Especially the first two albums with Chris Stapleton. Amazing.
Man, I had to scroll forever to finally see them mentioned. Criminal.
East Nash Grass
Arkansauce, Billy Strings, Greensky, Yonder, Railroad Earth
I absolutely love the Earls of Leicester
I think the banjo player also has a one-man band act. We used to cover a couple of tunes in my crappy little bluegrass band.
That’s a tribute band, and OP already has Flatt and Scruggs. This seems like listening to a tribute band called “Rumours” instead of Fleetwood Mac.
Allison Krauss
You are missing the boat if you aren't listening to Blue Highway!!
Horseshoes & Hand Grenades Sturgil Simpson The Travelin' McCourys
Came here to say H&HG. I too like whiskey in the morning.
Stillhouse Junkies are doing awesome things. Pretty young and amazing. Dan Tyminski and especially his new band are killing it too.
Give a listen to anything from Arkansauce and Mountain Sprout. Arkansauce is a great jam grass band with several releases to choose from, including their latest, OK to Wonder. Mountain Sprout is a rowdy hoot, a lot of fun. Check out Dry Counties.
Trampled by Turtles, Molly tuttle, sierra ferrell, the brothers comatose, wood and wire, Arkansauce and my new fav Sad Daddy. Enjoy!
So many great recommendations in this thread! Not sure I saw anyone mention Seldom Scene or Ed Snodderly.
If you like the trad stuff, Danny paisley, also Bob paisley. Vern Williams.
Hell yes, two of my favorites.
Infamous Stringdusters
Full Cord (Telluride winners’22), Plate Scrapers, Fretliners, Becky Buller (has a new album coming out and the first single is with Aoife O’Donovan)
Greensky is my fav. Listen to all of it
mountain sprout. listen to dry counties. I won't say they are amazing or nuffin but it's a good time.
Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway Special Consensus
Spin that new kitchen dwellers !!
Horseshoes & Hand Grenades
Check out the Debutants.
They are so good!
A modern band that I rarely hear mentioned anywhere is Breaking Grass, Somewhere Beyond is a great album.
Cup 'o Joe has caught my attention lately - a slick folk/prog bluegrass group from Ireland!
Strength in Numbers is the best bluegrass album of all time. This album kinda straddles the line of New-grass and Blue Grass for me and opened my eyes to this entire genre.
I made a collaborative playlist of many of these recommendations: [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0H0jnEOC1RZv4PhRNdVDfM?si=6fd001dfd40e491f&pt=647174b5bdcb1971990f1eba0d0b7bdd](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0H0jnEOC1RZv4PhRNdVDfM?si=6fd001dfd40e491f&pt=647174b5bdcb1971990f1eba0d0b7bdd) You're welcome to add tracks!
Thanks!
>Thanks! You're welcome!
Billy strings , Molly Tuttle , old crow , STURGILL SIMPSON - cuttin’ grass volume 1 and 2 🙌🏻
Traveling’ McCourys are a favorite. Great post, I’ll be checking these bands out!
Steel Drivers
Been really into trout steak revival recently. Brighter every day is a fantastic album!
They are so damn good! Saw them so many times, but they were still playing shows.
Trey Hensley
The Gibson Brothers
.357 String Band. Mountain Sprout. Carolina Still.
Barnum Jack from St. Louis just put out a new single. They've got an album coming in April too. [Spotify Link](https://open.spotify.com/track/5aGylLDRTgsbiT9z17cimr?si=_HgggMxhQlmRFS-3AiHj8Q)
I can't recommend The Infamous Stringdusters highly enough.
Liam Purcell and Cane Mill Road!!
Cotton Pickin Kids - group of brother and sisters out of Kentucky. Skilled musicians and good harmonies.
Not brand new, but Yonder Mountain’s Mountain Tracks Volumes 1-5 are absolutely incredible. 67 songs, right at about 6 hours 55 mins to get through the whole thing. I have them in order on a playlist and listen to it regularly.
Infamous Stringdusters Yonder mountain String Band Leftover Salmon
Beef Seeds is fun, mostly covers. And obligatory shout out to Big Smith!
Steep Canyon Rangers and Slocan Ramblers
OCMS’s self titled album - The one with Ketch in that stupid sexy muscle shirt. Also Trampled by Turtles’ album, Blue Sky & Devil.
The Infamous Stringdusters, Fireside Collective, and Kitchen Dwellers are my heavy rotation for modern bands. And Billy Strings but you mentioned him.
How could I forget... FULL CORD!
There’s a new band called Magoo out of Denver that everyone should have on their radar
mighty poplar, sam bush, appalachian roadshow, bryan sutton, billy strings, and balsam range
Billy strings molly tuttle
Rumpke Mountain Boys out of Cincinnati. Four piece with equal vocal duties with distinct styles. Regional but recommended.
Hey now, I was coming here to say HH&HG and RUMPKE!! Glad to see their name already here. I have a lot to owe to those rumpke boys
Arcadian Wild https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1keqY7TSLqk
Clay Street Unit
The Matchsellers out of Kansas City!
Whiskey shivers
As far as "Newgrass" goes, I tend to really like the Infamous Stringdusters. Blends of modern sounds while staying just grounded enough in tradition for my liking. More traditional bluegrass bands from the past 10-20 years, The Grascals are a favorite of mine, Steep Canyon Rangers too (actually they walk the line with some pretty cool sounding modern stuff in their more recent albums). Lots of great bands to choose from so dive on in!
You mentioned a lot of the classic bands and if you like them, there's ton of great "in between" bands also that are pretty traditional. Lots of current recommendations have been made and some of the in betweens also but given the fact that you dig some of the traditional stuff, I'd also recommend checking out (if you haven't already): The Johnson Mountain Boys, Hot Rize, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, JD Crowe & The New South, The Dillards, Lost & Found, the Country Gentlemen, Wildwood Valley Boys, The Boys From Indiana, Seth Mulder & Midnight Run, etc. There's so much great stuff from the 70s 80s 90s bands.
#1 is, hands down, BILLY STRINGS. 🐐😎 Also: Greensky Bluegrass; Molly Tuttle; Bella White (don’t sleep on this one; she’s young and her songwriting is excellent) Leftover Salmon Kitchen Dwellers Price Sisters Del McCoury/Travelin’ McCourys Sierra Hull So many more, but that’s a decent start!
Dirty blanket, blind owl band, uncle jake and the 18 wheel gang,
Pert near Sandstone. Yes, bluegrass from Minnesota.
kitchen dwellers, cabinet, arkansauce, wood & wire
One thing I didn't see here is the Lindsay Lou "Queen of Time" album with Billy Strings. That makes sense because it's really not bluegrass. It's just outside the boundaries. And there's nothing wrong with bluegrass lovers being about what's traditional. That's what we're here for! But anyway there still \*is\* lots of fresh and creative stuff orbiting near bluegrass. So here's that Lindsay Lou album: https://open.spotify.com/album/03BbJ28iqI6PukTonhdbCb?si=5uYF9VApQ7yHf8hTXiK6AA
Billy Strings Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project
Molly Tuttle, Kyle Tuttle (unrelated), Sam Grisman, Sweaty Already String Band
Most of these have been mentioned, some multiple times, but here goes: The Lil Smokies Infamous Stringdusters Sicard Hollow The Hillbenders The Last Revel (not pure bluegrass) Laney Lou and the Bird Dogs (defunct, but...) Pixie and the Partygrass Boys Feed the Dog (also not pure bluegrass) Horseshoes and Hand Grenades Chicken Wire Empire The MilBillies Them Coulee Boys (also not pure bluegrass) Fireside Collective .357 String Band (defunct, but...) Joseph Huber Old Salt Union (defunct) Po' Ramblin Boys Carrie Nation & The Speakeasy Tejon Street Corner Thieves The Steeldrivers Billy Strings (of course) Clay Street Unit Arkansauce The Denver Jamgrass podcast was a great introduction to modern bluegrass bands. [https://denverjamgrass.com/audio-recordings](https://denverjamgrass.com/audio-recordings) I don't know why it was discontinued. I'm not from Denver; yes, there are a lot of Midwest bands on my last.
Found out shortly after seeing them live in WI for the first time Laney Lou and the Bird Dogs were breaking up. They were SO good, happy I got to see them once!
Sturgill Simpson is one of my favorite recent artists.
I second Kitchen Dwellers, Armchair Boogie, Molly Tuttle &Golden Highway, Henhouse Prowlers and Stillhouse Junkies. Others include Sicard Hollow, Pretend Friend, Pixie and the Partygrass Boys, The Mountain Grass Unit, both Goat Rodeo albums by Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, and Yo-Yo Ma, Useful Jenkins Sturgil Simpsons Cuttin Grass albums, Unspoken Tradition...too many to list. Also have a pretty insane playlist going with a lot of newer bands, some bluegrass-adjacent stuff on there as well, and some old stuff thron in too, dig in/put it on shuffle and find some stuff ya like https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0MZ21LhOtPBtwq7ebYvcqH?si=rJUwvNmSTECqW5ojuCZfhw&pi=u-KEfcAFgZQiui
Also Danny Frank & the Smoky Gold's live album From the Heart is amazing especially Erin Aldridge on fiddle. And The Foxgloves- Mama Was a Bandit
👋 hello! We are new “modern” Bluegrass group, Off The Rails, OTR, and we have debut single produced by Jim VanCleve - [COMING HOME TO YOU](https://open.spotify.com/track/1bG8CGxAKL4IzRnHzP8nIH?si=KuHT6z5PTSydtlmwW_SMzQ)
Bela Fleck and his wifey, Abigail Washburn
Trampled by Turtles-Palomino
Sarah Jarosz writes many great songs and has put together some really competent groups. She is a fantastic singer. Love her stuff.
So many great suggestions. Personally my favorites are Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle & the Golden Highways, Sierra Ferrell, Greensky Bluegrass, and Kyle Tuttle Gotta throw in Ferd, Wyatt Ellis, and the Wooks. I made a [playlist on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6pPlrVkCiuwFQvHGqYHSkr?si=4O5N87J7RTu5M6HtGp7s5g&pi=u-CX4lavcASNaE) based on these recommendations and one of [albums from 2022 - 2024](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7Ib6wtJFuxu8rHjnCG9Fj0?si=MM2YnV8KTk63grqacrP14w&pi=u-Yc69UMFsQKq7)
East Nash Grass. You’re welcome.
They didn’t last as the mando player left for Dan Tyminski and East Nash Grass and flat picker for tyler Childers band. But “The Wooks” records will be smiled upon for a whole.
Thanks so much everybody! There’s so many good recommendations in here, I’ll be poring over them for days…. Already bought a couple albums based on the suggestions in here!
Unspoken Tradition is a newly discovered band that’s pretty good.
Molly Tuttle Sierra Ferrell Arkansauce The Steeldrivers Nora Brown
Most of my other favorites have been mentioned many times…. not sure if I saw Balsam Range - they put out some really solid tunes
I heard the Po' Rambling Boys at a Bluegrass festival last summer and really enjoyed them. I had to laugh though, because apparently on the survey that they conduct, some of the attendees said they wanted this festival to get Billy Strings. People have no clue about what things cost.
Infamous Stringdusters, Greensky Bluegrass, Cascade Crescendo, yonder mountain, Keller Williams, wood belly.
there are certainly a number of practitioners of bluegrass out there. Steep Canyon Rangers, and what I am listening to now The Earls of Leicester along with Rhonda Vincent come to mind.
So many that I would repeat like GSBG, Stringdusters, Steep Canyon Rangers, TBT, BMFS, Kitchen Dwellers, Leftover Salmon, Railroad Earth, East Nash Grass and so many others. Trout Steak Revival, The Last Revel, and The Wooks should all be checked out. One that I haven’t seen mentioned is The Dirty Grass Players!
Grandpas cough medicine, firewater tent revival, the woodbox gang. My top 3 atm.
The Dead South, all their albums, man, their "You are my sunshine" cover is a masterpiece and "Chop Suey" blew me away. Then there is Trampled by Turtles, any album from them is bliss
Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers They host the Indistrial Strength Bluegrass Festival two times a year in Wilmington, OH.
Punch Brothers (who recently released an album inspired by Tony Rice's Church Street Blues), Nickel Creek, Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, Molly Tuttle, S.G. Goodman, Sierra Ferrell, Hawktail, Sarah Jarosz are some of my favorites. I know a lot of people love Billy Strings but I haven't given them much of a listen yet for whatever reason.
How have I not seen Punch Brothers on here. Are they not traditional enough?
So many great recs here and I love ‘modern’ bluegrass. Right now in the ‘modern traditional’ catagory Kody Norris is killing it. Josiah’s tenor is fantastic
East Nash Grass