Commissions
Steep Canyon Rangers
Hailing from both the Appalachian and Piedmont regions of North Carolina, the Rangers have long held traditional bluegrass paramount, while possessing an exceptional ability to bring it down the mountain, and to incorporate accessible influence from all walks of the region. With the band’s last few albums, they have gained recognition from well beyond the world of bluegrass, earning a reputation as some of the most influential songwriters in Americana today.
Over the band’s esteemed career, the three-time Grammy nominees have released 14 studio albums, three collaborative albums with actor and banjoist Steve Martin, been inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, and appeared on some of music’s biggest stages. In 2013, Nobody Knows You won the GRAMMY Award for Best Bluegrass Album, while 2012’s Rare Bird and 2020’s North Carolina Songbook garnered nominations in the same category.
FreshGrass Commission
Premiered at the 2021 FreshGrass | North Adams music festival at MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA, FreshGrass was proud to present Steep Canyon Rangers Composition Commission!
The FreshGrass Composition Commission is our flagship grant, given annually to an artist whose work reflects the FreshGrass mission to preserve and support innovative grassroots music. Composition Commission recipients write a new long-form piece of music for an ensemble that includes some elements of traditional string band instrumentation, and the piece has its world premiere at the FreshGrass Festival at MASS MoCA or another FreshGrass event. Half the award is given for the creation and premiere performance, with the other half given to support the recording and release of the works.