Headliner: Steep Canyon Rangers
The 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. Steep Canyon Rangers have been on a journey that is uniquely their own. The band started in college at UNC-Chapel Hill, then dove head first into bluegrass in its most traditional form, and over the years have risen to the top of the bluegrass genre headlining top festivals such as Merlefest and Grey Fox Bluegrass. Only to then be discovered by Steve Martin, famous actor and banjo player. Martin has taken the Rangers on over a decade long tour introducing them to hundreds of thousands of new fans and giving them prime time TV exposure. This has helped SCR become the most recognizable modern name in bluegrass music. The band has continued to tour extensively on their own, without Martin, and have expanded their genre 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.
Opener: Zandi Holup
Evocative artist-writer Zandi Holup is a wildflower: unique, free as the wind, and blossoming in Music City. Born in Pennsylvania, she drifted from city to city until she found her home in Nashville six years ago. Cut from the same cloth as legendary folk singer songwriters like Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Joni Mitchell, Holup's raw brand of original folk country flourishes through unfiltered storytelling reminiscent of Dolly Parton and emphasized by her emotive vocals. A grassroots following placed her on the map as snippets of demos and unreleased songs resonated across social media in increasing numbers. Her first release, “Wait for You,” sat at No. 1 on the all-genre Spotify Fresh Finds playlist, amassing over a million streams with no promotion outside of her TikTok following. She has opened for the likes of Steve Earle, Amanda Shires, Ann Wilson of Heart, and more. Named a 2023 Artist to Watch by The Nashville Briefing, Holup signed a publishing deal with Arthouse Entertainment and TurnTable Music in partnership with Universal Music Publishing, and a record deal with Big Loud Records in 2023. Her first release on the label, “Gas Station Flowers,” is available now.