J.D. Crowe and his band The New South have been together almost since that unknowable epoch shift in the region itself. Crowe, of course, is a multiple Grammy-nominated banjoist and bandleader with bona fides as boffo as anyone in the business. He cut his teeth with the legendary Jimmy Martin in The Sunny Mountain Boys for almost five years before forming his own group, The Kentucky Mountain Boys (not ones to waste valuable time coming up with a band name, these old-timers), which soon morphed into The New South. Arguably one of the Top Five full bands in bluegrass today—throw Doyle Lawson and Del McCoury in the mix—The New South has also been a fertile proving ground for some of the biggest stars in the genre: Tony Rice, Ricky Skaggs, Keith Whitley, Jerry Douglas and Lawson himself. Like the region, Crowe continues to adapt to the times. Ought-seven’s Grammy-nominated Lefty’s Old Guitar, shot through with more than a bit of cold-creek country, still managed to keep the music looking forward, even while anchored firmly in the Kentucky hills that birthed him.
Fri., Oct. 2, 3:45 p.m., 2009
Fri., Oct. 2, 3:45 p.m., 2009
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