Mountain Grass Unit: Remember that name
Young quartet Mountain Grass Unit from Birmingham blew into Heartwood Soundstage in Gainesville, Florida for two sets of hot stuff. Their reputation preceded them; I was messaged by an established artist who said I really needed to go see them. They exceeded expectations.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but what I got was one of the best young bands I’ve seen in a long time. They’re big Billy Strings fans; they even got to fill in for him at a festival when he rushed home as his wife was giving birth. Billy also called Luke Black one of his favorite flatpickers, and I could see why. From his first break on their opening song (“Boxcar”), he was on fire. He’s already creating lots of national buzz. With Drury Anderson singing most of the lead vocals and playing some extremely tasty mandolin breaks, Josiah Nelson burning up his fiddle, and Sam Wilson on a solid bass with excellent harmony singing, they rapidly had the crowd up and dancing.
Their two sets were as diverse as you can get. From a number of their own originals (“Cicada Song” and their closer “Hey Mama” were standouts) to some unusual covers (The Allmans’ “In Honor of Elizabeth Reed,” Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb,” and Skynyrd’s “Simple Man”), they kept things interesting all night.
Throwing in a Billy Strings cover (“Turmoil and Tinfoil”), they also did some more traditional bluegrass covers: Boone Creek’s “One Way Track”, Jimmy Martin’s “Tennessee,” and an updated version of Doc Watson’s “The Train That Carried My Girl From Town.”
At the end of the night they called up rising bluegrass/Americana star Mason Via for some straight-ahead traditional songs: “Sunny Side of the Mountain,” “Doin’ My Time,” and “Little Maggie.”
Very much like their idol Billy Strings, their sets are a great mix of bluegrass, rock covers that showcase their jam band credentials, and some fine original songs. They have several EPs out, and another one is pending. This is an exciting new band that has an extensive touring schedule this summer. If you get a chance to see them, don’t pass it up; as much as I really hate the use of cliches, it’s easy to describe them as young guns… because it fits. They’re going to be a band you’ll hear more and more about in the future.
(click on photos for full-size view; special thanks for Alex Culbreth for the use of his photos)
Mountain Grass Unit
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