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North Carolina’s Town Mountain wraps up its 2021 touring schedule with a show at DC’s The Hamilton Live, Oct. 23, 2021. (Photo by Ari Strauss)
Check out the Twitter page for Town Mountain and your find a pithy bio that reads, “Bluegrass with swagger from Asheville North Carolina!” That swagger was on display when the band wrapped up its last run of touring in 2021 with a two-hour set at DC’s The Hamilton Live recently.
Asheville-based group Town Mountain will perform in DC at The Hamilton Live on Oct. 23. Since their inception over a decade ago, Town Mountain has built a reputation for their rowdy, energetic performances, a testament to each member’s refined musicianship. They’ve continued to make waves in both the studio and the live music circuit; from holding spots on the Billboard Bluegrass and Americana Radio charts for weeks to appearing on the legendary Grand Ole Opry stage multiple times.
Charley Crockett performs at Watermelon Pickers Festival 2021. (Photo by Chester Simpson)
Watermelon Picker’s Fest is one of my favorite festivals that I look forward to every year. The experience of camping, socializing with old and new friends while listening to music is an amazing experience not to be over looked. Besides music on the stages, there’s the night jam sessions, where various musicians travel from campsite to campsite for a special musical experience. It’s an opportunities to hangout with performers in a pleasant, usually quite rural, setting.
Town Mountain performs at The Hamilton Live on Feb. 1, 2020. (Photo by Ari Strauss)
Town Mountain brought its A-game to DC recently with a solid performance at The Hamilton Live. The evolutionary bluegrass band that plays with a rock ‘n’ roll feel performed songs from its vast catalog along with a few covers, including a bluegrass version of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire.”
Druid Hill Park in the wind after a storm during Charm City Bluegrass Festival. (Photo by Matt Ruppert)
Waking on Friday, the forecast indicated thunderstorms and heavy winds in the neighborhood of 3 to 7 o’clock. The hours passed slowly, work keeping me busy; periodic texts from my wife, little checks of the app, and nervous glances outside the windows of classrooms marked the passage of the clouds, the speed of the winds.
Town Mountain performs at The Hamilton Live on Jan. 18, 2019. (Photo by Ari Strauss)
[Editor’s note: This piece has been updated on Jan. 22, 2019, to reflect details of the show.]
In August, Rolling Stone listed Town Mountain in its 10 Country Artists You Need to Know. Although the band has been around for a more than a decade, and it has won International Bluegrass Music Association Awards, it’s reaching a new level on the back of its latest album, 2018’s New Freedom Blues, released last year, which casts a sonic bridge between bluegrass and Americana. Town Mountain justified that new level of respect in a show at The Hamilton Live on Friday.
Town Mountain performs at Pearl Street Warehouse on Oct. 12, 2018. (Photo by Ari Strauss)
If you’re a fan of bluegrass, you likely know Town Mountain. The North Carolina quintet is at the forefront of the next generation of bluegrass greatness. They have a new album coming on Oct. 26th — New Freedom Blues — and the band made a stop at Pearl Street Warehouse recently to put on a show and promote the album.
Town Mountain (Photo by Sandlin Gaither)
Ashville, North Carolina, bluegrass quintet Town Mountain will release its much anticipated sixth studio album, New Freedom Blues, on Oct. 26. The gents roll into Pearl Street Warehouse in advance of the release for a show on Friday, Oct. 12.
Scythian performs at the Appaloosa Festival over Labor Day Weekend. (Photo by Chester Simpson)
“The Appaloosa Festival is like building a giant tree fort as a kid, and it keeps growing!” said Dan Fedoryka of Scythian.
Town Mountain (Photo by Sandlin Gaither)
Appaloosa Festival returns as DC’s top roots music festival on Aug. 31-Sept. 2 at Skyline Ranch Resort in Front Royal, Virginia. Festival hosts Scythian, your favorite DC Celtic rockers, present a strong lineup, including Gaelic Storm, Mandolin Orange, Six-String Soldiers, Aoife Soctt (Irish folk artist of the year), and Town Mountain, the talented string band from Asheville, North Carolina.
Parklife DC recently caught up with Town Mountain banjo player Jesse Langlais via email to get the latest news about the band and to find out more about their upcoming sixth studio album, New Freedom Blues, due for release on Oct. 5.