Genre: Country
Decades Active: 70s, 80s, 90s
The eclectic Colorado progressive bluegrass band Hot Rize also played traditional bluegrass, jazz, and rock. They came together in 1976 and were named after the secret ingredient of Martha White Self-Rising Flour, the product Flatt & Scruggs had promoted early in their careers. The bandmembers were Tim O'Brien on lead and harmony vocals,... [+] Read More
Genre: Country
Decades Active: 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s
With his skill and his broad definition of the meaning of bluegrass music, Mike Auldridge became known over his multi-decade career as a master of the Dobro, or resonator guitar. Raised in Kensington, MD, he began playing guitar at 12, adding banjo when he was 16 and settling on Dobro at 17. In 1954, he made his first radio appearance on a local... [+] Read More
Genre: Country
Decades Active: 70s, 80s, 90s
Moe Bandy was one of the most popular country singers of the 1970s, turning out a series of hits in the latter half of the decade that made many fans and critics believe he was one of the great honky tonk singers. Bandy's songs never strayed far from the traditional barroom fare -- delivered with a knowing sense of humor, loving, cheating,... [+] Read More
Genre: Country
Decades Active: 70s, 80s, 90s
New Grass Revival, formed in 1972 by four former members of the Bluegrass Alliance, flourished in a decade when numerous groups took traditional bluegrass and changed it to varying degrees. The group was successful enough to have the group's name become a generic label: "newgrass." The band's image, with long hair and occasionally electrified... [+] Read More
Genre: Country
Decades Active: 70s, 80s, 90s
Russ Barenberg is one of the most melodic instrumentalists in contemporary bluegrass. Best known for his Clarence White-style flatpicking, Barenberg often uses his other three fingers to enhance rhythm and melody and create a more textural sensitivity. A former member of Country Cooking, Heartlands, Fiddle Fever, and Laughing Hands, Barenberg... [+] Read More
Genre: Country
Decades Active: 70s, 80s
Featuring banjoist Tony Trischka, Skyline helped pioneer the newgrass sound in the '80s, combining a bluegrass/country blend with strong songs and tight harmonies. ~ Chip Renner, All Music Guide
Genre: Country
Decades Active: 70s, 80s
The Bluegrass Album Band was a bluegrass supergroup formed in 1980. Originally, the band featured J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson, Tony Rice, Bobby Hicks, and Todd Phillips. All of the members were known as progressive bluegrass musicians, but the Bluegrass Album Band was designed to showcase the traditional side of their talents. Their first album,... [+] Read More
Genre: Country
Decades Active: 70s, 80s
The Bluegrass Cardinals came together in Los Angeles in 1974 when banjoist Don Parmley and mandolinist Randy Graham teamed up with Parmley's 15-year-old son, David, to form what was to become a successful bluegrass trio who wielded considerable influence from the latter half of the '70s through the early '90s. Don Parmley and Randy Graham's... [+] Read More
Genre: Country
Decades Active: 70s, 80s
Progressive bluegrass group the Rowans consisted of harmonizing brothers Peter (guitar, most members of the mandolin family), Lorin (guitar), and Chris (guitar, flute). All three grew up in the small Massachusetts town of Weyland, near Boston, and played rock and bluegrass music together. Peter played with several folk bands in the New England... [+] Read More
Genre: Country
Decades Active: 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s
"We try to find material that's a little bit different, and approach the music in a little bit broader way than most bluegrass bands do," said the Seldom Scene's Dudley Connell to the Baltimore Sun in 1998. Since its inception in 1971, the Seldom Scene has thrived on playing bluegrass a little differently than everyone else. If other bands used... [+] Read More