Favorite Bluegrass Band (Don't read the first paragraph)

[Tim W]

The Nashville Bluegrass Band.
Mountain Heart
Newfound Road
Boxcars
Balsam Range
Isaacs
Larry Sparks
... these are a few of my favorite things...

[DataNick]

Earl Scruggs is from my hometown in N.C., so Flatt & Scruggs are my first exposure to bluegrass. HUGE Del Mcroury fan, you definitely need to check him out. Grisman, Skaggs, are great. Allison Krause and Union Station can do no wrong in my book, I'd pay to listen to her read the phone book. Modern mando players, Thile is fantastic. Technically maybe the best ever, and I love to listen to him and marvel. IMHO, he tends to sound a bit too sterile sometimes (Personal taste speaking here). Sam Bush is probably my all around favorite, the man just packs so much soul into his music.

I'm going to open a can of worms here and politely disagree with MikeDMandoMan re: bands that I would call bluegrass bands.
I think we fall into a thinking pattern where because the instrumentation is like a bluegrass band, we automatically categorize them as bluegrass. If the OP's thread was "Favorite Bands" then any band applies, but for example, though Allison Krause has a bluegrass background, as does Jerry Douglass, I saw them/Union Station at Strawberry Music Festival last spring and they were anything but bluegrass; more like americana/folk/progressive country. A lot of these artists move in and out of different genres (David Grisman) so it's difficult to say that they fit in one particular genere, whereas Old & In The Way, who Grisman played in, was for all intensive purposes a bluegrass band.
I might be splitting hairs here, but I don't think so.
Also as much as I love Sam Bush, I would not categorize the genre of "Newgrass" as bluegrass; it's different, and it has nothing to do with generational differences. The Grascals and IIIrd Tyme Out are 2 groups that are contemporary, yet are what I would call faithful to the bluegrass genre, whereas Union Station, Newgrass Revival are not.

And let me re-iterate, that doesn't make them bad, just different than bluegrass!

[re simmers]

Do you have True Life Blues Monroe Tribute Album? Thile plays "Scotland" on there.

I guess if Sam Bush, David Grisman, etc are Newgrass, then Punch Brothers is Newergrass.

Anyhow, some of my favorites are anything with Sam Bush and/or John Cowan.
Specific albums -
Tony Rice's Manzanita,
Dreadful Snakes' Snakes Alive,
Best of John Duffey,
Nashville Bluegrass Band's Home of the Blues,
Vassar Clements' Full Circle,
Ricky Skaggs' History of the Future,
JD Crowe & The New South (first one)
Bluegrass Album Band (all of them)
Bill Monroe (all of them, too)

Bob

[DataNick]

Do you have True Life Blues Monroe Tribute Album? Thile plays "Scotland" on there.

I guess if Sam Bush, David Grisman, etc are Newgrass, then Punch Brothers is Newergrass.

Bob

re simmers,

I think you're addressing me, so here goes, if not sorry!

My point above is that these artists move in and out of multiple genres so no, I wouldn't classify David Grisman as a Newgrass artist, neither would I classify him as a bluegrass artist, whereas I would classify The Grascals as a bluegrass band.
The Punch Brothers are definitely what I would call "Progressive Acoustic"...they wouldn't classify themselves as a bluegrass band either.

[jake-mando]

I have great respect for all classic Bluegrass. I'm not a fan of the high pitched/high lonesome sound, but I respect it. I do prefer more progressive stuff.

Lonesome River Band
The Grasscles
The Seldom Scene
The Box Cars
Daily and Vincent
IIIrd Time Out
Dan Tyminski

My all time favorite Country/Bluegrass musician and personal idol is Ricky Skaggs!

[DataNick]

re simmers,

I think you're addressing me, so here goes, if not sorry!

My point above is that these artists move in and out of multiple genres so no, I wouldn't classify David Grisman as a Newgrass artist, neither would I classify him as a bluegrass artist, whereas I would classify The Grascals as a bluegrass band.
The Punch Brothers are definitely what I would call "Progressive Acoustic"...they wouldn't classify themselves as a bluegrass band either.

Last blow to the dead horse!

Scenario: you have a rich friend who's getting married. He loves what he calls "hard drivin bluegrass" and wants you to book a bluegrass band for the wedding reception. $25k is at your disposal, and he says that if he's happy with the group he'll pay you an additional $25k.
I'm not booking Allison Krause & Union Station; I'm looking to book Blue Highway, IIIrd Tyme Out, The Grascals, somebody like that. That's the direction I'm taking when $25k is on the line to me personally, so we're out of the realm of personal tastes and into the realm of reality.
If the same friend says he wants an americana type folky/country band, then I'm looking at Union Station.
Sorry but $ talks and _____________!

[swampy]

Dude!

Awesome!

Oh my! Where has this been all my life!

[mandolirius]

Dude!

Awesome!

Obviously, I agree. There isn't much discussion about this incredible resource. Makes me wonder how many people are aware of it.

[Mike Bunting]

Obviously, I agree. There isn't much discussion about this incredible resource. Makes me wonder how many people are aware of it.

No excuse not to be aware of it, doesn't he post every update here?

[Mike Bunting]

I'm going to open a can of worms here and politely disagree with MikeDMandoMan re: bands that I would call bluegrass bands.
I think we fall into a thinking pattern where because the instrumentation is like a bluegrass band, we automatically categorize them as bluegrass. If the OP's thread was "Favorite Bands" then any band applies, but for example, though Allison Krause has a bluegrass background, as does Jerry Douglass, I saw them/Union Station at Strawberry Music Festival last spring and they were anything but bluegrass; more like americana/folk/progressive country. A lot of these artists move in and out of different genres (David Grisman) so it's difficult to say that they fit in one particular genere, whereas Old & In The Way, who Grisman played in, was for all intensive purposes a bluegrass band.
I might be splitting hairs here, but I don't think so.
Also as much as I love Sam Bush, I would not categorize the genre of "Newgrass" as bluegrass; it's different, and it has nothing to do with generational differences. The Grascals and IIIrd Tyme Out are 2 groups that are contemporary, yet are what I would call faithful to the bluegrass genre, whereas Union Station, Newgrass Revival are not.

And let me re-iterate, that doesn't make them bad, just different than bluegrass!

I pretty much agree with your assessment. One thing that I really like about Grisman is that he doesn't mix up the genres at one show. If it's bluegrass gig he plays bluegrass i.e. the DGBX and plays dawg at appropriate gigs

[Stephen Cagle]

Thanks DataNick.
I have addressed this many times over myself and it certainly IS beating a dead horse in the head. You nailed it and I couldn't have said it any better. Thanks.

[BeginnerMandolinistTyler]

Thanks guys for all of the suggestions! I probably should reworded the title to something like: "Favorite band with bluegrass instrumentation" to not really limit anything! It's going to take me a while to go through this list! I appreciate everyone's input!

[DataNick]

Thanks guys for all of the suggestions! I probably should reworded the title to something like: "Favorite band with bluegrass instrumentation" to not really limit anything! It's going to take me a while to go through this list! I appreciate everyone's input!

Tyler,
It's all good Bro!
We're just trying to put the different bands in the proper genre labels. As you're seeing there are a wealth of bands that cross genres, and there are also a lot of bands who stick in pretty much one genre. ACDC is hard rock/metal. The Eagles on the other hand depending on what album you're listening to can be alternatively rock n roll, country rock, R&B tinged rock, MOR/Easy Lisenting, etc.
Whatever you find enjoyment in is what matters! If you were looking for a list of bluegrass bands to check out, there's a good list to start with from the previous posts, Enjoy Bro!

[Michael Bridges]

While I totally agree that some of the artists I mentioned might not qualify as "Traditional" bluegrass, I was feeding off OP's statement of his affinity for Thile, definitely not a hardcore bluegrasser. I've just always broken music down into 2 types, good or bad. Maybe I'm just not enough of a segregationist? LOL. Anyhow, OP DEFINITELY has some great places to start getting his feet wet with all the great suggestions listed here.

[BeginnerMandolinistTyler]

Stupid question time:
What's OP? From what I am gathering, it means something like Original Poster? Haha, this is the first forum I have ever frequently visited!

[sunburst]

Yep, OP = original poster or original post.

[lukmanohnz]

Did I miss it or did this thread actually get 40 replies deep without mentioning JOHN REISCHMAN AND THE JAYBIRDS???

[AlanN]

JD Crowe & The New South (first one)

I'm guessing you mean Rounder 0044. Agree.

There was actually an earlier record with mostly that line-up, not on Rounder I think, and had some drums and such on it. Not as strong or as ground-breaking.

[lukmanohnz]

That is phe-effin'-nomenal.

[DataNick]

While I totally agree that some of the artists I mentioned might not qualify as "Traditional" bluegrass, I was feeding off OP's statement of his affinity for Thile, definitely not a hardcore bluegrasser. I've just always broken music down into 2 types, good or bad. Maybe I'm just not enough of a segregationist? LOL. Anyhow, OP DEFINITELY has some great places to start getting his feet wet with all the great suggestions listed here.

Mike,
If I'm ever in Canton, GA, I would like to be able to look you up, have a coke and pick a few tunes cordially, so I'm not getting on your case...I just feel we need to be specific about categorizing.
Chris Thile is a mandolinist who plays a wide range of musical genres, so yes he's not a "hardcore bluegrasser", he's a mandolinist.
Adam Steffey I believe would call himself a bluegrass mandolinist. Because the Greatful Dead played country-type songs on occasion (Ripple, Going Down The Road Feelin Bad), doesn't mean they were a country band, they were the Greatful Dead.
Again I go back to my "scenario" post; if it meant $25k to you personally to get it right and book a bluegrass band for an event, I doubt that you would consider The Punch Brothers, cause they ain't gonna play bluegrass! They're gonna play progressive music(melody lines that are not consistently melodic, complex chord changes, variant rhythms, etc); and that's what gets those guys off, so it's all good! Because YES wasn't the Beatles doesn't mean that YES was bad, just different!

A band I play banjo & guitar in, The North County Boys, gets this all the time. We played last night at a venue and a patron referred to us as a "good bluegrass band" because we include a few bluegrass numbers, but we're not a bluegrass band. I mean we play songs like Sandman by America, Feel A Whole Lot Better by The Byrds, Homeward Bound by Simon & Garfunkel, Knockin On Heaven's Door by Dylan; and we play these pretty consistent to the original arrangements. Our musical tastes are eclectic.
On the other hand, I play mandolin in a band called High Mountain Road, and we are straight ahead bluegrass period! High Mountain Road would not be caught dead doing most of what the North County Boys does, yet some people refer to the North County Boys as a "bluegrass" band because we do a few bluegrass numbers.
Go figure!

[Michael Bridges]

DataNick, we're cool, I was being facetious (sp?) as much as anything. I will accept the coke and picking session if ever possible, tho. My main idea was realized, our main guy got pointed in some excellent directions, however they may be clazsified!

[DataNick]

DataNick, we're cool, I was being facetious (sp?) as much as anything. I will accept the coke and picking session if ever possible, tho. My main idea was realized, our main guy got pointed in some excellent directions, however they may be clazsified!

It's all good Bro!

[Justus True Waldron]

Tyler -
I went to write you a list and wrote a book instead. So to save time I moved the list to the top, but if you or anyone is interested on my reasons for the artists I choose you can read the rest too. I found this a fascinating topic of thought.

Here is my list for those wishing to learn and love mandolin... incomplete, of course, but my idea of essentials, starting with Thile, because that's your starting point:

1. Chis Thile
2. The Infamous Stringdusters (first three albums with Jesse Cobb, one of my favorite mando players and also very versatile, but strongly based in bluegrass)
3. Dominick Leslie - young guy, and currently playing with the Deadly Gentleman. You might actually really like them, I haven't done a lot of listening to them but I know some of them and they're all really good. Dominick though is in my mind one of the hottest up and coming players out there, very tasteful and can play like Thile if that's what you're after.
4. Cory Piatt - Currently playing with Kenny & Amanda Smith. Come to think of it look up Kenny & Amanda Smith, they almost always have really good mandolin players. Corey is still really young (17 I think?) and he's already amazing. Another guy that could play like Thile if he wanted.
5. John Reischman - The epitome of Tone and Melody over Flash, I'm a relative latecomer to the Resichman train but that's to my shame. This guy writes some of the best and most beautiful instrumentals out there, as long as you aren't looking to get your socks knocked off by a shiny lick every 10 seconds... although he can do that too. Check out his latest solo album, the first track is a duet with Thile
6. Wayne Benson - One of my favorite mando players, and a good step into more solid "bluegrass" territory. He plays with IIIrd Tyme Out, but try to find the "Bluegrass *year*" series put out by banjo player Scott Vestal. He plays on most of those and they are all essential, and you'll hear a ton of really great bluegrass instrumentals. I have Bluegrass 1995 - Bluegrass 2002, I'm not sure if there are any others.
7. Shaun Lane - plays for Blue Highway and is a really great mando player
8. Sam Bush/David Grisman/Mike Marshall on anything with Tony Rice and/or Bela Fleck. Too many to list
8. Alan Bibey - Great mando player, blew the doors off the key of B
9. Herschel Sizemore - Moving a little back in history, a good intro to older BG in my opinion with this cleaner "fiddle style" playing
10. John Duffy in The Country Gentleman - Also played with the Seldom Scene for years, but his stuff with the CG is what really got me heading in the "older" direction
11. Early David Grisman - "Early Dawg", an essential mando recording and an answer to anyone who says that David Grisman doesn't play real bluegrass
12. Frank Wakefield - The Kitchen Tapes
13. Bill Monroe - the man himself

I've basically worked through this list myself in that order, and now I find myself listening to everything. I do a weekly bluegrass radio show, and find myself listening to everything from real Old Time that pre-dates bluegrass up to brand new progressive stuff. There's a lot of good stuff out there!

Ok here is the "book" of explanation on my thinking:

While I'd say MOST of what Chris Thile plays is not bluegrass, there is nothing wrong with that and he's an excellent place to begin a love of mandolin. While I bet I'm not too much older than you I personally didn't start out that way, but rather caught the bug listening to Sam Bush playing with Tony Rice and Bela Fleck on stuff (Bela Fleck's albums Drive and The Bluegrass Sessions, plus Tony Rice's Acoustics). Not long after that though I first heard Chris Thile and that definitely threw some fuel on my mandolin fire.

I find this discussion interesting because while all those musicians mentioned are all amazing at playing bluegrass, the stuff I first heard isn't really bluegrass. I think that's fine, and over time I've found myself listening to older and older music, and more and more "traditional" bluegrass. In my mind there are sort of three main "paths" people go down in listening to bluegrass/related music. Path 1 is those that start out listening to traditional bluegrass - the classics - and only listen to it and the occasional modern band that tries to get that exact sound. Not surprisingly this crowd is usually a little older and grew up with Monroe etc, although I do know some folks younger than me that feel the same. Next is the group of people that perhaps started out like that but over time start listening to some newer and more "adventurous" "Long haired" bands. Finally, we have the group of people I believe me and you fit into somewhere - those growing up in the age of instant access to all sorts of music both modern and classic. Where do we start listening and where do we go?

As I mentioned, I started with Sam Bush and David Grisman and then Thile, and lots of people started with just Thile. You clearly know His music and love it, but need more. Now what? The issue is that Thile is pretty much one of a kind in terms of the amount of styles he plays, so there really is nobody else quite like that to compare it too. I doubt you'll find a lot of other mandolin-heavy acoustic bands doing covers of Radiohead and the Strokes, for example. However, the good news is that there IS plenty of very good mandolin music out there, it's just different.

Because lets be honest: Bill Monroe is incredible, a pioneer and someone who arguably did more for mandolin than probably anybody, except perhaps until David Grisman and Thile... but when I first started playing mandolin I found it very hard to listen to. It took a couple years of digging into mandolin and playing bluegrass before I realized I needed that foundation to really make my playing sound "right". At this point I've really grown to love the Stanley Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs, Bill Monroe, and the early pioneers of bluegrass... but they honestly wouldn't be my first suggestions to somebody coming from a more "progressive" background. Their genius can be a little lost on fresh ears at first I think, but it's as good as gold once you get around to it! I started playing mandolin listening to Sam Bush and Thile and trying to play like them, and I took to it fairly quickly. I always thought my playing was a little "off" from what I heard them do, and it wasn't until later I realized they all learned from listening to the players that came before them. So I did that myself, and things started to make more sense... You can get a good idea of the "framework" of bluegrass mandolin by listening to modern players, but to really "get" it yourself I think you have to go to the original source. I've met some phenomenal players recently that I would call basic "Thile Clones", with excellent technical skills but a lack of "soul" in their playing. I think the reason for that is not doing enough listening to the original innovators of BG mandolin! Good luck on your mando journey man, it can certainly be a lifetime endeavor!

[mandolirius]

No excuse not to be aware of it, doesn't he post every update here?

Yeah, he does. And rarely does anyone comment or even acknowledge his contributions. I find it puzzling, but then again that describes my feelings about a lot of things.

[sunburst]

Because lets be honest: Bill Monroe is incredible, a pioneer and someone who arguably did more for mandolin than probably anybody, except perhaps until David Grisman and Thile... but when I first started playing mandolin I found it very hard to listen to. It took a couple years of digging into mandolin and playing bluegrass before I realized I needed that foundation to really make my playing sound "right". At this point I've really grown to love the Stanley Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs, Bill Monroe, and the early pioneers of bluegrass... but they honestly wouldn't be my first suggestions to somebody coming from a more "progressive" background. Their genius can be a little lost on fresh ears at first I think, but it's as good as gold once you get around to it!

Bingo!

It kind of makes me feel old, but when I think of Chris Thile I still think of the 13 year-old kid (with all the poise, taste, timing and tone of a seasoned pro) that I saw and heard for the first time at Merlefest some years ago. The thought that people have come to the mandolin and then progressed "back" onto Bluegrass through his influence makes perfect sense, but it sure seems like it happened over night to some of us who were already on our journey when he showed up on the scene.