bluegrass

The Hackensaw Boys first began playing their joyful blend of old-time and bluegrass-tinged string-band music on the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia in the autumn of 1999. Far from limiting themselves to the old-time canon, however, the Hackensaws have been first and foremost a band of songwriters. Their music, while drawing upon the spirit of the mountains, is sophisticated and informed by the best elements of punk rock and classic country music. As one reviewer put it:

Chris Thile is a renowned mandolin player and a founding member of the progressive bluegrass trio Nickel Creek with Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins. Thile began recording his first solo album in 1993, with most songs of his own composition. After two more solo albums of all original material, he teamed with mandolin master Mike Marshall for a stunning album of duets called Into the Cauldron, which included forays into jazz, world music, and Bach. In 2004 Chris released Deceiver, a departure from his earlier work which contained a variety of pop/rock/folk influenced vocal numbers.

The Ditty Bops is a band from Los Angeles, California that play a blend of folk, bluegrass, jazz, swing music, ragtime and musical theater. They are headed by Abby DeWald (vocals and acoustic guitar) and Amanda Barrett (vocals, mandolin and dulcimer). They are noted for their excellent harmonies and generally playful style and tempo. The Ditty Bops formed in New York City, when Abby and Amanda were on a hunt for a friend's lost cat.

Junior Brown (born 1953) is an American country guitarist and singer from Kirksville, Indiana. He first learned to play piano from his father "before I could talk". His music career began in the 1960s, and he worked through that decade and the next developing his astonishing guitar skills. By the mid-80s he was teaching guitar at the Hank Thompson School of Country Music at Rogers State University, in Claremore, Oklahoma.