The experience of witnessing a live concert in an underground cave has been a luxury for music-lovers in the Chattanooga area for many years. Cumberland Caverns in McMinnville, Tennessee, are only a little over an hour away from downtown Chattanooga, and the Emmy-winning PBS live music television series “Bluegrass Underground” really brought notoriety to the location as musicians including Del McCoury, Lucinda Williams and Widespread Panic performed 333 feet underground amid stunning rock formations that nearly stole the show.
Even though the U.S. National Landmark still operate as a caving experience, and still hosts concerts from time to time, organizers of Bluegrass Underground announced last August that they were moving to a more permanent location: The Caverns in Pelham, Tennessee – bringing the live-music-in-a-cave experience even closer to the Scenic City.
The Caverns officially opened earlier this year, allowing for more fans at shows than before and offering more in terms of food and beverage. The organizers have already drawn large acts to this new venue and the August schedule is jam-packed with a great variety of national headliners: Mountain Heart on Saturday, Aug. 11, The SteelDrivers on Friday, Aug. 17, Corey Smith on Saturday, Aug. 18, Band of Horses on Sunday, Aug. 19, Guster on Thursday, Aug. 23, and Wyclef Jean on Friday, Aug. 31.
Balsam RangeOne of the highlights of their August calendar is a scheduled performance from bluegrass outfit Balsam Range on Saturday, Aug. 25. Hailing from Canton, North Carolina, right outside of Asheville, the band has continued their rise in the bluegrass scene since they began their venture in 2007, and 2018 has proven to be an exciting year for them so far. In late April, they released a special project album named “Mountain Overture,” taking some of their favorite songs from their six previous albums and re-recording them with the 14-piece Atlanta Pops Orchestra Ensemble. They also released a new single, “The Girl who Invented the Wheel,” in mid-June and have a full tour schedule that has them all over the country through next March.
Overall, Balsam Range doesn’t seem to be letting up any time soon, and while they are on fire, this would be a great opportunity to see them perform in a cool “underground” experience.