For over four decades, Lonesome River Band has been at the heart of bluegrass music, blending traditional sounds with progressive innovation. Known for their driving banjo, tight harmonies, and compelling storytelling, the band has cemented itself as...

 “Hey Bill, how about havin’ Courtney here fill in on banjo?” “No Sir!” Bill Monroe turned to the upstart Courtney Johnson. “What’d you call that music there?” “Newgrass??” “Yes, I hate that.” Sometime, in the early 70s, probably at one of Bill ...

Sometimes things just don’t go as planned. That’s just as true for the history of bluegrass music, as it is for music as a whole. In fact, there really was no plan.  Bill Monroe had no plan, as a teenager, to meet and play with Arnold Shultz, an...

One night in 1969, Ralph Stanley was racing to a show in Louisa, Kentucky. Bam! One of his tires blew out. He was gonna be late. When he finally made it to the show, he heard singing, and the ring of a mandolin. “They sounded exactly like us!” he tol...

“Let little Ricky sing! Little Ricky can play!” In 1960, Bill Monroe found himself faced with an enthusiastic crowd in Martha, Kentucky. He and his Bluegrass Boys were playing a gig at the local high school.  In between songs, the crowd implored...

Thursday and Friday, November 17-18, 2022

Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road have combined masterful musicianship and a creative sound to entertain audiences in 48 states and 13 countries while scoring multiple hits, industry accolades, and collaborations with other legendary artists.

Friday, November 18

Blessed with what many consider the most soulful, expressive voice in bluegrass and gospel music, Larry Sparks is among the most widely known and respected touring musicians of today. With over 60 albums to his credit, Larry has been delighting countless fans worldwide for over 50 years.

Special Guest

Raised in eastern Tennessee, Paul Williams is both an accomplished mandolin player, lead, and tenor vocalist who began his musical career in the early ’50s as part of Lonesome Pine Fiddlers. Afterward, he signed on with Jimmy Martin’s Sunny Mountain Boys which included one of the most respected banjo players ever, J.D. Crowe.

Being the son of a legend isn’t exactly easy - there are big shoes to fill and high expectations to be met. But if torches must be passed and legacies maintained, Ralph Stanley, the elder, must be mighty proud of his son because, since his father’s death, Ralph II has no doubt met, and exceeded his father’s wish to carry on the Clinch Mountain style of music, now in its 76^th year.

Friday, November 18, 2022

Q. What do you call a 2-year-old band with 200 years of professional experience? A. Fast Track, bluegrass music’s latest “supergroup”. Steve Day, Duane Sparks, Dale Perry, Ron Spears, and Shayne Bartley have been prominent former members of some of the finest bands in bluegrass.

Saturday, November 19, 2022

North Carolina can once again be credited for producing great bluegrass. Hailing from just east of Charlotte, Deeper Shade of Blue is comprised of Troy Pope (guitar/vocals), Jason Fraley (mandolin/vocals), Frank Poindexter (dobro/vocals), Steve Wilson (banjo), and Scott Burgess (bass/vocals).

Friday, November 18, 2022

Larry Efaw is all about tradition. Accomplished on both mandolin and guitar, started playing at the age of 7. During his long musical career, he has performed as a guest with Dailey & Vincent, Rhonda Vincent, Dr. Ralph Stanley, Doyle Lawson, Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin, Del McCoury, Lewis Family, and GoldWing Express just to mention a few.

Thursday, November 17, 2022

Nashville-based, Pinecastle Records artist, Williamson Branch, brings energy, a high steppin’ show that features a fine-tuned variety of bluegrass, gospel, and country music, accentuated by world-class Appalachian clog dancing. When it comes to music, there’s a closeness among family members that cannot be overstated.

Saturday, November 19, 2022

A rewarding part of putting on Bluegrass Christmas in the Smokies is presenting new acts to our audience, and here’s one we know you’re going to enjoy. The Family Sowell is an all-sibling, contemporary bluegrass band from Knoxville, Tennessee, featuring driving instrumentation, tight family harmony, and original songs written straight from the heart.

Friday, November 18, 2022

No Bluegrass Christmas in the Smokies festival would be complete without the strong presence of soul-stirring gospel music. When deciding which of many excellent possible groups that might be, The King James Boys routinely topped the list of candidates.  Founded in 1994, The King James Boys started solely as a group that only sang at their church with no intentions of traveling.

Miracles appear in the strangest of places. And so, it was when a group of friends decided to enter a bluegrass band competition back in 1994. What started 28 years ago as an afternoon of fun turned into one of the most endeared and entertaining franchises in bluegrass music… Nothin’ Fancy.

Saturday, November 19

Western North Carolina has produced some of the best bluegrass musicians on earth. Count mandolin phenom, Nick Chandler, among them. He and his band, Delivered, play it the way fans of traditional bluegrass like to hear it … hard-driving and straight from the heart.

Thursday, November 17, 2022

Prairie Wildfire, formed in 2015, is an all-female band from Buffalo, Wyoming, offering a blend of bluegrass, country, and gospel. With vocalist Sage Palser on mandolin, vocalist Morgan Blaney on bass, and vocalist Tessa Taylor on banjo, these dynamos have honed their harmonies, filled out their sound with original instrumentation, and written many of their own tunes.

As mentioned in part one, The Origins of Bluegrass Music: A True-grass History, Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys were still, more or less, just a good ole’ hillbilly string band when they joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1939. At the time, they had not yet a...

With a style all their own, Mountain Highway® is an authentic young family band steeped in traditional bluegrass and gospel music originally made famous by icons like Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, and Ralph Stanley. The band is comprised of four sibling singers who play banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and guitar, and their father playing upright bass. The group is often heralded for its tight family harmony.