It's surprising that the members of Front Country ended up together in a folk-pop band given their diverse backgrounds.
Melody Walker was a roots-rock singer. Bassist Jeremy Darrow studied jazz. Leif Karlstrom trained to be a classical violinist. Adam Roszkiewicz, mandolin player, studied classical guitar at San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Guitarist Jacob Groopman toured for five years in a hippie Afrobeat band.
But fate brought them together at a progressive bluegrass jam in San Francisco's Mission District in 2011. They learned to play roots music their own way and soon formed Front Country. A year later, they won first place in the RockyGrass Festival Band Competition.
In 2013, Front Country won the Telluride Bluegrass Festival's band competition, making them only the third band in history to win both contests.
If you go
› What: Nightfall Concert› Where: Miller Plaza, 928 Market St.› When: 7 p.m. Slim Pickins opens, 8 p.m. Front Country, Friday Aug. 9› Admission: Free› For more information: 423-265-0771
Also that year, songwriter and lead vocalist Walker won first place in the Chris Austin Song Contest at MerleFest, and was named one of "Seven Women Smashing the Bluegrass Glass Ceiling" by Paste Magazine.
Roszkiewicz was nominated for a Grammy in 2013 for his work with the Modern Mandolin Quartet on their album "Americana."
Following the release of their first full-length album, "Sake of the Sound," in 2014, the band became a full-time national touring act, hiring bassist Jeremy Darrow in 2015.
Front Country released second album "Other Love Songs" in April 2017 on Organic Records. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums Chart.
The band is now based in Nashville.