Greensky Bluegrass - Since winning the 2006 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition, Michigan's Greensky Bluegrass have been playing nearly 200 shows a year and sharing stages with Tony Rice and Peter Rowan, Sam Bush, Yonder Mountain String Band and Railroad Earth. The group uses traditional bluegrass instruments to craft original songs and soundscapes, venture into exploratory rock ‘n’ roll jams and give songs by the Talking Heads, Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead and Bob Marley a bluegrass twist. The group’s fourth studio CD, “Handguns,” debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard bluegrass chart and opened the door to higher profile appearances at festivals like Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The follow-up, 2014's “If Sorrows Swim,” debuted at No. 1 on the bluegrass chart.

Cabinet - Formed in 2006, Cabinet  brings together players from various musical and personal backgrounds to explore music that was created long before they were born - from “American Beauty”-era Grateful Dead to old-timey bluegrass. Members include Pappy Biondo (banjo, vocals), J.P. Biondo (mandolin, vocals), Mickey Coviello (acoustic guitar, vocals), Dylan Skursky (electric bass, double bass), Todd Kopec (fiddle, vocals), and Jami Novak (drums, percussion). The group’s latest release, “This is Cabinet - Set II,” was recorded in 2013 at Stage One in Fairfield, CT and Club Metronome in Burlington, VT. 

Hot Club of Cowtown - Austin, TX-based Hot Club of Cowtown was inspired by legendary jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli's Hot Club of France, and the Western swing influence of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. Adding traditional fiddle tunes and Tin Pan Alley standards to the mix, the group is among the youngest members ever to be inducted into the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame. The roots of HCoC go back to NYC in the mid-‘90s, when guitarist/vocalist Whit Smith and violinist/vocalist Elana Fremerman were members of Western Caravan, an 11-piece swing band. Since its 1998 debut, the group has become a favorite at festivals in this country and overseas, opening stadium shows for Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. In 2006 the band toured as musical ambassadors for the US State Department and became the first American band to tour Azerbaijan. A reviewer from London’s Guardian noted that the band has "spirit, originality and skill that would surely have impressed Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt back in the 1930s.”  In 2008, the group released a 20-track “Best Of” retrospective, followed by the critically-acclaimed “Wishful Thinking” and, in 2011, a collection of Western swing standards made famous by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, “What Makes Bob Holler.” The band’s latest release, “Rendezvous in Rhythm,” was produced by Lloyd Maines and features a collection of Gypsy songs and American Songbook standards played in the hot jazz style of legendary violin and guitar masters Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt.

The Carper Family - In 2010, three of Austin's most talented young country and bluegrass singers and pickers. Melissa Carper, Beth Chrisman, and Jenn Miori - joined forces to form The Carper Family. After growing up in Nebraska, Alaska and Texas, respectively, and playing music with their families, each member led her own band and has sat in with some of Austin's finest. In 2012, The Carper Family’s debut studio album, “Back When,” was named “Best Country Album” for the Independent Music Awards. In the last few years, the group has shared stages with country notables including steel-guitar master Cindy Cashdollar, West Virginia’s Ginny Hawker, and Kansas City fiddle legend, Betse Ellis, and performed throughout North America and Europe. The members have also taught workshops and lessons at a variety of gatherings and regularly play at country dances, farmers’ markets, and farm potlucks.  

David Morris - Born and raised in Ivydale, Clay County, David Morris and his brother John became an important link between oldtime masters like Ira Mullins and the new breed of folk and traditional artists in West Virginia. A regular at the Glenville Folk Festival, in 1965, David was selected to represent West Virginia folk music at the New York World Fair. In 1982, he represented Berea College, Berea, at the Knoxville, Tennessee World fair. He served as a medic in Vietnam from 1967-1968, an experience that impacted both his life and his music. In the early 1970's David and John received two grants from the Rockefeller Foundation and one from the National Endowment For The Arts to help organize grass roots folk festivals in communities throughout the Appalachian Mountains. David, his brother, and their parents hosted the Morris Family Old-Time Music Festivals at their farm in Ivydale from 1969 to 1973. Many of the finest traditional musicians in the country performed at these festivals with attendance reaching 7,000. The 1972 festival was captured on film in a documentary by filmmaker Bob Gates. David continues to perform, often with his son Jack Ballangee. He also is involved in issues surrounding Veteran’s rights and benefits.