Headliner: Blue Highway
In 2023, the highly-esteemed bluegrass band Blue Highway celebrates 29 years of touring, with four of the original members still intact. Its single "On the Roof of the World" was number one on the Bluegrass Today National Airplay chart for 4 weeks from July to August 2022, and was the number one song for the month of September while its follow-up “Lonesome State of Mind” was number one five times on the weekly chart and for the months of February, March and May 2023.
The band has earned a collective 32 IBMA Awards, 6 SPBGMA Awards, one Dove Award, plus three Grammy nominations. Most recently, the band was nominated for IBMA's 2022, 2021 and 2020 Vocal Group of the Year and Song of the Year Awards.
Blue Highway's #1 album Original Traditional was nominated for a 2017 GRAMMY Award for Best Bluegrass Album. Blue Highway was voted the Favorite Bluegrass Artist of All Time by the readers of Bluegrass Today in April 2016. Tim Stafford received honors as 2001 and 2015 SPBGMA Guitar Player of the Year and 2014 and 2017 IBMA Songwriter of the Year. He co-wrote the 2008 IBMA song of the year--recorded by the band--"Through the Window of a Train." Wayne Taylor was inducted into the Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame in October 2016. Shawn Lane was nominated as 2015 IBMA Songwriter of the Year. The band's latest album "Somewhere Far Away: Silver Anniversary" is available in our Music Store. "Both Ends of the Train" was nominated for IBMA's 2020 Song of the Year.
Blue Highway charted the Most Radio Airplay of any Bluegrass Artist in 2014, per the 2014 Bluegrass Today Radio Airplay Chart, storming national airplay charts with their heralded album The Game, which topped multiple charts, including reigning at # 1 for 7 consecutive months on the Bluegrass Unlimited Album Chart, and was named the #1 Bluegrass Album of the Year by critic Daniel Mullins in his end of the year Top 20 Albums of 2014 list in Bluegrass Today.
As momentum continues to build for the quarter-century strong powerhouse band, Blue Highway is rolling on with a rich legacy and three powerhouse songwriters, instrumentalists and vocalists in Tim Stafford, Wayne Taylor, and Shawn Lane, whose harmonies soar over the dynamic banjo of Jason Burleson and the tasteful Dobro of Gary Hultman.
Opener: Chatham Rabbits
When you see Chatham Rabbits on stage, it’s clear why they are one of North Carolina’s most beloved roots bands. Partners in life and music, Austin and Sarah McCombie blend their personal histories and shared life into songs that people from just get. The duo has captured the pure adoration of fans nationwide and praise from American Songwriter, Garden & Gun, and No Depression. Sarah’s brimming voice fills the space with heart. Austin’s steadiness always serves the song. It makes one wonder if their relationship is the same. It’s nice to imagine that art imitates life. The duo is currently finishing their fourth full length album and enjoying the afterglow of the successful nationwide syndication of their PBS series, “On the Road with Chatham Rabbits.”