Appalachian Smoke [CD]

Mountain Grass Unit stand at the intersection of bluegrass music's past and future. They're leaders of a new generation of songwriters who honor the genre's history while pushing it's boundaries, too - musicians who treat bluegrass not as a tradition, but as a living, breathing language. That language evolves and expands with 'Appalachian Smoke', an album that combines the live-wire energy of the band's concerts with the bold, wide-open exploration of the recording studio.Produced by six-time Grammy winner Vance Powell, 'Appalachian Smoke' came together during a whirlwind era that found Mountain Grass Unit hitting the highway, transforming their grassroots audience into a national following. For years, they'd squeeze their concerts into the narrow margins of long weekends and summertime breaks. When college graduation spilled the musicians out into the real world in 2025, Mountain Grass Unit committed fully to the road, selling out more than 30 shows that year and winning the International Bluegrass Music Association's Momentum Artist of the Year award. Even so, nothing could have prepared the guys for 'Appalachian Smoke.' If releases like 'Runnin' From Trouble' and 'Places I've Been' introduced the band's stacked vocal harmonies, expert flat-picking, and curated songwriting - hallmarks of the bluegrass music they'd grown up playing, along with Grateful Dead cuts and rock & roll classics - then 'Appalachian Smoke' proves they're every bit as interested in reinvention as preservation. This isn't your grandfather's bluegrass record; it's an eclectic collection of modern-day American roots music, proudly planted in the 21st century.