Mountain Heart may just be the closest a band can come to being a bluegrass dream team without superstar names like Monroe, Bush, Scruggs or Stanley involved.
A full lineup of International Bluegrass Music Association-nominated musicians gives Mountain Heart plenty of lightning-lick potential and the lead singer’s rock-star pipes demand attention, but it’s the band’s reluctance to be stylistically boxed in that makes them stand out, said banjo player Barry Abernathy.
“In 1999, when we first started this band, (bluegrass musicians) wouldn’t get outside what was selling to the main audience of pickers,” he said. “With bands like ours, Cadillac Sky and Chris Thile, you’ve got people with fresh ideas in their mind that go way beyond three-chord bluegrass.
“Bridging that gap probably sets us apart from a lot of bands.”
Thursday, they and the Texas-based newgrass band Cadillac Sky will light up the stage at Rhythm & Brews as part of the bands’ Acoustic Apocalypse touring partnership.
Recent lineup shuffling over the last 18 months has brought Mountain Heart a pair of new members — lead singer Josh Shilling and mandolinist Aaron Ramsey — to join veterans Clay Hess (guitar/vocals), Jim VanCleve (fiddle/vocals) and Jason Moore (stand-up bass/vocals).
Despite the upheaval, Abernathy said the band’s energy is at an all-time high.
“When you first start a band, you worry that, ‘Oh, it’s going to be tough if we lose this person,’ but when you do, it brings new life into your music,” he said. “We still have our sound, but these new guys are willing to put their necks out on the chopping block with their solos.”
Casey Phillips has worked as a features reporter in the Life department for three years. He writes about entertainment, young adults, animals and people of interest. Casey hails from Knoxville and earned a bachelor of science degree in journalism and a bachelor of arts in German. He previously worked as the features editor for Sidelines at Middle Tennessee State University. Casey received the East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists Award of Excellence for Reviewing/Criticism in ...
