If you follow this blog, you know I have been a big fan of the Steep Canyon Rangers, affectionately known as just “Steep,” for a long, long time so I am excited to announce they are returning to the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh on Friday, Aug. 18, for a show with the incomparable Amythyst Kiah, whom I have also had the pleasure of hearing perform on numerous occasions. You don’t want to miss this show, trust me! For tickets, which are $30 for nonmembers, and more information, visit https://ncartmuseum.org/events.
From the Museum’s website:
The Steep Canyon Rangers are made up of Graham Sharp on banjo and vocals, Mike Guggino on mandolin/mandola and vocals, Nicky Sanders on fiddle and vocals, Mike Ashworth on drums and vocals, Barrett Smith on bass, guitar, and vocals and Aaron Burdett on guitar and vocals.
The band has been on a journey that is uniquely their own. They started in college at UNC–Chapel Hill, then dove headfirst into bluegrass in its most traditional form. Over the years they rose to the top of the bluegrass genre, headlining top festivals such as Merlefest and Grey Fox Bluegrass.
The Rangers were then discovered by Steve Martin, famous actor and banjo player, who took the band on a decade-long tour. He introduced them to hundreds of thousands of new fans and gave them prime time TV exposure. This helped SCR become the most recognizable modern name in bluegrass music.
The band has continued to tour extensively on their own and has expanded into country, jam, and Americana. The Rangers are big players in the bluegrass/country and Americana scene today. They are often compared to predecessors The Band, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and the modern Zac Brown Band.
Amythyst Kiah’s Rounder Records debut, Wary + Strange, marks the glorious combination of two vastly different worlds: the iconoclastic alt-rock that first sparked her musical passion and the roots/old-time music scene where she’s found breakout success in recent years, including recognition from Rolling Stone as “one of Americana’s great up-and-coming secrets.” With an unforgettable voice that’s both unfettered and exquisitely controlled, the Tennessee-bred singer/songwriter who identifies as an LGBT woman expands on the uncompromising artistry she most recently revealed as part of Our Native Daughters—an all-women-of-color supergroup. Their Kiah-penned standout “Black Myself” earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best American Roots Song and won Song of the Year at the 2019 Folk Alliance International Awards. In her graceful interlacing of political commentary and personal revelation, Kiah infuses “Black Myself” with a potent vulnerability that builds and deepens all throughout Wary + Strange. The transcendent quality of her newly elevated sound is an extraordinary vessel for Kiah’s songwriting: a raw yet nuanced examination of grief, alienation, and the hard-won triumph of total self-acceptance.
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