At a Mountain Grass Unit show, the only people having more fun than the crowd might be the four guys on stage.
Never failing to deliver an exhilarating set, the band plays with an infectious fervor that makes it hard to believe there’s a much less glamorous side to life on the road: Once that last note is played and the band walks offstage, there’s usually a long drive to the next town waiting on the other side.
The up-and-coming jamgrass outfit was living this dichotomy about a month ago when we hopped on a call to discuss their debut studio album Appalachian Smoke. Less than 24 hours earlier, the band had played two killer sets at Under the Big Sky, not only tearing up their originally planned side stage slot, but also making the most of a surprise opportunity to fill in for an ailing Waylon Wyatt on the main stage in front of many fans who were likely seeing Mountain Grass Unit for the first time.
When we spoke, though, the adrenaline of performing in front of thousands had long since worn off. The band was crammed into their van, somewhere on an interstate between Whitefish, Montana and Nashville, working through the first of two 15-hour stints that stood between them and home. That contrast between the high of performing and the realities of the road is fitting for a band whose new album manages to capture both sides of its identity.
Mountain Grass Unit has built a reputation on the strength of its phenomenal live show, and Appalachian Smoke is the first record that truly captures what makes that show so compelling. Beneath the fastgrass, psychedelic jams and instrumental fireworks, though, is a surprisingly personal album about life on the road, mental health, and the places and experiences that have shaped these four musicians. And with their audience, touring footprint and the broader bluegrass scene all expanding rapidly, Appalachian Smoke arrives at exactly the right time for Mountain Grass Unit to turn years of buzz into something much bigger.
Initially formed as a trio, the band got its start when childhood friends Drury Anderson (mandolin, lead vocals), Luke Black (guitar) and Sam Wilson (upright bass) began playing together around their hometown of Birmingham, AL. Between 2021 and 2022, the trio released their first two projects, Where I Land and Places I’ve Been, and continued honing their craft while balancing the band with college. Sam attended the University of Alabama, while Drury and Luke studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, but they spent their breaks and summers together playing gigs across the Southeast. In the process, they developed the tight musicianship and commanding stage presence that would become the band’s foundation.
Their evolution continued when Josiah Nelson joined on fiddle in 2024, bringing another dimension to a sound that had already begun to turn heads. By that point, MGU was budding into a legitimate touring act with a national following, and the addition of Nelson helped complete the four-piece lineup that has taken the band to new heights.
That year proved to be a turning point in more ways than one, as MGU landed a spot at Billy Strings’ Renewal festival in Buena Vista, CO, joining a lineup that included some of the biggest names in the scene. When Strings’ wife went into labor with their son and he had to rush home, MGU stepped up to help fill in the resulting gaps in the festival schedule, and exposed thousands of bluegrass fanatics to their talents in the process. And they haven’t looked back since.
After graduating college and committing to life on the road full-time, MGU has continued to build on that momentum, landing spots on seemingly every major bluegrass festival lineup while increasingly crossing over into the country and Americana worlds, opening for artists like Dierks Bentley and even playing the Grand Ole Opry. They couldn’t have timed their rise and the release of their most important album to date any better, either. Billy Strings and the broader modern bluegrass movement have helped introduce an enormous new audience to this type of music, creating a wider lane for young bands willing to push the genre forward. As a result, Appalachian Smoke arrives at a time when more ears than ever are ready to listen to bluegrass.
And if the new music is any indication, Mountain Grass Unit is prepared to capitalize on the opportunity. Even in a scene suddenly overflowing with talented young bluegrass and jamgrass acts, Mountain Grass Unit has managed to carve out an identity all its own. Beyond the fact that all four of these guys are among the most talented in the business at their respective instruments, they have developed a remarkably cohesive musical identity built on tight harmonies, captivating stage presence, and a selflessness that puts the music ahead of any individual.
“We like to focus on really tight harmonies.”
Drury says, pointing to the influence of artists like Doyle Lawson and Tony Rice, whose harmonies with the Bluegrass Album Band helped shape their approach. Singing his bandmates’ praises, Luke added.
“Drury and Sam are both great songwriters. Having a strong lyric behind a good melody and rhythm is super important, and these guys do a good job of that.”
Just as important, though, is the band’s ability to collaborate.
“Our ability to sacrifice a little here and take a little there is important,” Drury explains. “We’re finding this homeostasis for all of us in what we want in a song. I think we’ve just got the perfect cocktail recipe right now.”
And perhaps that’s ultimately what makes Mountain Grass Unit work: They’re four musicians who take the music seriously without taking themselves too seriously. “At the end of the day, I think it’s really just that we play what we’d want to hear,” Luke says. “We’re having fun with it and hopefully continuing to create a fun environment where everyone gets to enjoy the music and have a good time. That’s what we’re all about.”
While their previous recordings are great, there’s a looseness to their music that might seem at odds with the precision of their arrangements, and you really need to see them live to understand that. Changing their approach in the studio this time around, the band found a way to capture the essence of their live show in the new album. And that’s what sets it apart from anything else they’ve released to date.
“For the first time in our recording history, we were able to record the whole project without using a metronome or a click track,” Sam explained. “We felt that our previous recording stuff didn’t have that same energy and it didn’t have that sort of feel to it. So we think that this project really is a more accurate reflection of what it’s like to come see us live.”
“We worked with Vance Powell in Nashville at his place called Sputnik Sound,” Drury added, providing insight into the recording process. “Vance has done a lot of records with Jack White. He’s done a record with Stapleton and won a couple Grammys with that stuff. But he’s also got a jam band side. He was Phish’s live stream audio technician for a good while, so I think he understands our sound and it was really cool to have a dude that had a little bit of the bluegrass/country knowledge, but also a little bit of the jam band-ness.”
That eclectic sound that they were able to channel with Vance’s help is on full display right off the jump, catching their groove immediately on “Earthquake” before diving headfirst into a harmony-filled fastgrass track “Homebound Troubadour.” The album really kicks into gear though with the title track “Appalachian Smoke,” a hard-driving tune that encapsulates Mountain Grass Unit’s sonic expansiveness. Later, in “Eagle’s Nest,” the band proves their propensity for pushing bluegrass’ boundaries.
“It’s very experimental,” Luke says. “One of the instruments on the track we recorded is the electric sitar, which I don’t think is commonly used in bluegrass. It’s also got bongos, octave mandolin, a gong, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, fiddle.”
But underneath all of these sonic fireworks, Appalachian Smoke is a surprisingly personal record that weaves the band’s Southern identity through anecdotes – whether experienced, observed, or imagined – that deal with life on the road, mental health, and more. There’s plenty of fun and lighthearted tunes on the record, too, but compared to the band’s prior catalog, they’ve clearly stepped it up as far as writing deep and meaningful lyrics goes.
“We tour a lot, and touring comes with a lot of pros and cons.” Luke says. “There’s a lot of sacrifices I don’t think people realize touring musicians have to make in order to do what they love. It’s missing out on stuff with loved ones, missing out on a lot of family events, missing out on things with your friends. That’s a big burden a lot of touring musicians and anyone who travels like this can relate to. It’s something that obviously weighs on us, so we write about it.”
“Today couldn’t paint a more perfect picture,” Drury adds. “We just got done with a gig, and everything went great over in Whitefish, but now we’re spending two 15-hour days to get home. That sort of balance is the message we’re aiming for.”
Mountain Grass Unit has been playing live shows together for over eight years now, though, and after having toured full time for a couple of years as well, they’re well equipped with the experience and perspective to convey the double-edged sword that is life on the road, and also touch on the confidence it takes to get up on stage and perform over and over again.
“Playing live shows from such a young age, it’s been a journey developing confidence and learning how to get out in front of a lot of people, and be honest,” Luke explains. “To be goofy, but also play songs that are really personal, and talk about that stuff.”
“We have so much fun doing it,” Drury mentions, wanting to make that clear. “But I think that’s one thing we are trying to get a little bit better at. We may not particularly be the best at writing songs that are deep. But with this album, we tapped into that a little bit more.”
The album also features two odes to antiquated modes of transportation with the album’s obligatory train song “Window For a Friend,” joined by “Where Steamboats Go To Die.” But while those songs tap into some of the genre’s familiar imagery, the album’s sense of place goes much deeper than bluegrass tradition.
From Birmingham to Knoxville to Vicksburg to Mandeville, and plenty of other southern locales in between, and not to mention frequent references to the Appalachian mountains, Appalachian Smoke is remarkably explicit in its geographic references, and the American South serves as a distinct backdrop for the album.
“We write about memories and things we’ve grown up doing or we like to do, so naturally we’re writing a lot about outdoors and nature,” Luke says. “I think that just growing up in the Southeast, a lot of those places have a personal connection for us that we like to include in the songs.”
Taken together, those songs paint a picture of a band that is deeply connected to where they came from, yet set on spreading their take on the bluegrass tradition well beyond the boundaries of the places and sounds that shaped them. But perhaps more importantly, they paint a picture of a band whose music is meant to be experienced in motion—in front of a crowd, on a stage, and without a metronome telling them where to land.
For years, Mountain Grass Unit’s greatest strength has been their live show. It’s where the tight harmonies, instrumental fireworks, spontaneity and sheer joy of four friends playing together all come to life. With Appalachian Smoke, they’ve finally figured out how to bottle some of that energy. The album doesn’t simply document what Mountain Grass Unit sounds like; for the first time, it gives listeners a genuine taste of what makes seeing them live so special. And as the band continues to put more miles behind them and more people in front of the stage, Appalachian Smoke feels like the record that finally brings that experience to the masses, and positions Mountain Grass Unit for yet another breakthrough.
For a band whose biggest goal has always been to get people in a room and have a good time together, the album’s success won’t be measured by streams or social media metrics. They’ll measure it by whether people sing along, whether the songs find their way into the band’s ever-evolving live sets, and whether the record convinces someone who’s never seen Mountain Grass Unit to finally buy a ticket.
“We want to give something to the crowd that they can take home and enjoy when they’re not at a show,” Luke says. “That’s what I would define as success with this album.”
Appalachian Smoke Tracklist:
“Earthquake”
“Homebound Troubadour”
“Appalachian Smoke”
“Wait for Me”
“Window for a Friend”
“Darkness Rollin’ In”
“Forest Mississippi”
“Suspicion”
“One Last Time”
“Eagle’s Nest”
“Take Your Time”
“Where Steamboats Go To Die”
“Another Sunday Again”
Mountain Grass Unit Tour Dates:
9/6 – Mill Spring, NC – Earl Scruggs Music Festival
9/10 – New Orleans, LA – Tipitina’s
9/11 – Houston, TX – The Heights Theater
9/12 – Austin, TX – Antone’s Nightclub
9/13 – Dallas, TX – The Kessler Theater
9/15 – Denver, CO – Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom
9/16 – Denver, CO – Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom
9/18 – Flagstaff, AZ – Pickin’ In The Pines Bluegrass & Acoustic Music Festival
9/20 – Annapolis, MD – Annapolis Baygrass Festival
9/22 – Santa Fe, NM – The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing
9/24 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
9/27 – Missoula, MT – Top Hat
9/29 – Boise, ID – Shrine Social Club Ballroom
10/1 – Vancouver, BC – Fox Cabaret
10/2 – Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern
10/3 – Portland, OR – The Get Down
10/5 – San Francisco, CA – Cafe Du Nord
10/6 – West Hollywood, CA – Troubadour
10/9 – Oklahoma City, OK – Beer City Music Hall
10/10 – Eureka Springs, AR – Hillberry Festival
10/22-25 – Live Oak, FL – Suwannee Hulaween
10/29 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
10/31 – Opelika, AL – Cottonseed Studios
11/6 – Charlotte, NC – The Underground
11/7 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre
11/8 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
11/4 – Charleston, SC – Charleston Music Hall
11/9 – Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird Cafe and Music Hall
11/11 – Philadelphia, PA – Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia
11/13 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl New York
11/15 – Boston, MA – Royale
11/17 – Toronto, ON – The Drake Underground
11/19 – Detroit, MI – El Club
11/20 – Chicago, IL – Garcia’s
11/21 – Chicago, IL – Garcia’s
11/22 – Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line
1/19-23 – Puerto Aventuras, MX – Panic en la Playa
