Bluegrass Bands to Get Acquainted With

	Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys From 1938 to 1996 Bill Monroe formulated and perfected the bluegrass sound.  Bill Monroe never lived in the mountains but he grew up in rural western Kentucky in the hills above Rosine, KY.  From his mother's voice, his uncle's fiddle, a blues playing black man and the hills and hollers around him he created a new sound.  Beginning with his brother Charlie and ending with The Bluegrass Boys, Bill Monroe's shows were the pinnacle of bluegrass music performance for many years and countless people still learn from those examples in hundreds of recordings. Band History
	Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys "One of the most famous bluegrass bands of all time was Flatt and Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys.  Because of a guitar player/vocalist from Tennessee named Lester Flatt and an extraordinary banjo player from North Carolina named Earl Scruggs, bluegrass music has become popular the world over and has entered the mainstream in the world of music.  The Beverly Hillbillies song probably didn't hurt them any either" (website link)
	JD Crowe & The New South Many banjo players consider him to be the best backup banjo player in the business.  JD Crowe has played with all the masters from Jimmy Martin to Doyle Lawson to Sam Bush and everyone in between.  JD Crowe was part of the Newgrass movement and currently he takes a look back at traditional bluegrass.  JD still actively tours, employs highly skilled musicians in his band and he still lives in his hometown near Lexington, KY and conducts a festival near  there every year. (website link) Band Website
	The Stanley Brothers & The Clinch Mountain Boys The Stanley Brothers, Ralph and Carter started the Clinch Mountain Boys way back in 1946.  Drawing on their mothers claw hammer banjo techniques, the haunting melodies of shape note singing learned in the Primitive Baptist Church and the lonesomeness of the mountains of Virginia they became known as the "mountain style" of bluegrass music.  Carter passed away at age 41 in 1966 but Ralph Stanley still carries the "mountain style" flame.  He still tours and he helped cause a renaissance in bluegrass music by performing songs on the soundtrack for the movie "Oh Brother Where Art Thou". Band Website
	Johnson Mountain Boys "The arrival of the Johnson Mountain Boys on the bluegrass scene in 1980 demonstrated without doubt that there is a huge audience for a young band still passionately committed to driving, intense, thoroughly traditional bluegrass.
	Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver Doyle was born near Kingsport, TN in 1944.  He cut his teeth with Jimmy Martin as part of the Sunny Mountain Boys in 1963 and then joined the Country Gentlemen in 1971.  In 1979 he formed his own band called "Doyle Lawson and Foxfire", then later changed it to Quicksilver.  Doyle has always been known for his excellent vocalists, gospel harmony and gospel singing, yet he has also had a staple of traditional bluegrass in his recordings as well.  Doyle continues to tour and continues to change his lineup to feature some of the best musicians and vocalists in Bluegrass music.  Quicksilver is also known for their slick dressin at shows! Band Website
	Rhonda Vincent & The Rage 7 Time IBMA vocalist of the year; Rhonda Vincent, knows a thing or two about music.  She started playing in her family's band the Sally Mountain Show at a young age and she earned the respect of mostly male peers after being a bluegrass icon for nearly 4 decades.  "The Rage" is known for traditional, hard driving bluegrass, and Rhonda is know as one of the sweetest, most approachable performers in the business.  I was told one time that when a show was rained out, Rhonda and the band went to a local general store near the stage and played an entire show for anyone who cared to listen.  As far as I'm concerned that is about as good as it gets.  IMHO she is currently the "leading lady" of bluegrass (sorry Allison Krauss).  Band Website
	Nashville Bluegrass Band Nashville Bluegrass Band consists of several on-call musicians who live in the Nashville area.  All are top notch musicians.  Their bluegrass can sound polished or rugged, lending to the musicians amazing skills.  I included NBB, because many people who have never heard of bluegrass learned what it was because of these "wonderful bluegrass ambassadors" (as Marty Stuart calls them). Band Website
	Lonesome River Band Lonesome River Band, led by Sammy Shelor has a hard driving, "polished traditional" sound.  Think of Jimmy Martin driving in a Cadillac.  They record a lot of the old songs but put a new twist on them much the same way that Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder do.  The main difference is that their frontman, Shelor, is a banjo player so the songs they record are banjo-centric... which is very interesting considering the amount of traditional mandolin-centric material they re-record. Band Website
	Bluegrass Album Band This collection of musicians has long been considered one of the greatest bluegrass unions of all time.  Rounder compiled an excellent host of musicians who paired wonderfully together and many times if you are going to introduce someone to bluegrass you'll give them a Bluegrass Album Band recording.
	The Louvins Ira and Charlie Louvin were known for their haunting harmonizing vocals as much as they were the drama that surrounded their lives.  If you've never heard "She's Running Wild" do yourself a favor and listen to it.
	Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder As Marty Staurt aptly put it, they are "the fine ambassadors of bluegrass music".  When Ricky Skaggs came back from country music to bluegrass he simply came home... and home has been a happy place ever since.  Ricky combines energy and contemporary production in a way that is purely traditional.  He employs quite possibly the best group in the business from Jim Mills on banjo, to Paul Brewster on backup vocals to Cody Kilby on flattop, to Mark Fain on Bass, to Andy Leftwich on Fiddle... to the man himself Ricky Skaggs on mandolin.  Every album these guys produce is a classic. Band Website
	Del McCoury Band Del McCoury is an approachable man who employs his family with great success.  Del without a doubt puts on the best show in the business.  I've never seen a man stick around 2 hours after showtime just to stand on stage and take requests and enjoy it so.  With experience he only could have received from the master himself, Bill Monroe Del McCoury is bringing bluegrass to newer generational audiences every day. Band Website
	Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys In my own words I would refer to Jimmy Martin as "Honky Tonk Bluegrass" or "Bill Monroe on Steroids".  Jimmy was the wild and crazy cousin of traditional bluegrass.  Sunny Side of the Mountain, Freeborn Man, and I'm Comin Back But I Don't know When are just a few of the unforgettables songs Jimmy performed or wrote and it was a sad day when he passed on.
	Allison Krauss & Union Station Perhaps the most well-known "bluegrass band" of the decade.  Allison and her band bring bluegrass in the modern world with blues, jazz and pop overtones.  Her haunting voice is the literal definition of the "high lonesome sound" and Dan Tyminski instrumental know-how and vocals are a perfect compliment to something that is nearly in complimentable. Band Website

Forgive me if I didn't list a certain band, I know that Blue Highway, CherryHolmes , Mountain Heart, Jim and Jesse and the Bluegrass Cardinals, and a whole host of others should be on the list.... but the truth is there are countless gifted bluegrass musicians and bands... some never go outside of a jam.  That's the beauty of bluegrass music.  Yet the ones above have achieved success in the public limelight and I believed they have influenced the direction of bluegrass music...

- SD