When you put three world-class players — Nick Dumas, Chris Luquette, and Andrew Knapp — in a small room with a crowd of Philadelphia bluegrass fans, something special happens. It happened on March 28 at Bourbon & Branch. Photos and video below.
Spring has arrived, and with it a season’s worth of exceptional bluegrass and acoustic roots music in and around Philadelphia. From hard driving bluegrass right in the heart of Philly to a four-day festival in the hills of Pennsylvania, there’s something here for every shade of roots music fan.
Beyond these touring acts, the local scene is thriving. Check the calendar and follow Philly Bluegrass on social so you don’t miss a thing.
Sam Grisman grew up in a household where Jerry Garcia came over to pick tunes with his father, legendary mandolinist David “Dawg” Grisman. Now leading his own rotating collective of acoustic all-stars, Sam carries that legacy forward with reverence and genuine joy — honoring the music of Old & In The Way, the Grateful Dead, and classic bluegrass, while leaving plenty of room for improvisation and surprise. This is feel-good acoustic music with serious pedigree. Tickets →
Grammy-nominated and IBMA award-winning musicians who normally play big stages and major festivals — in a small room in Northern Liberties, for one night only. Nick Dumas (Special Consensus), Chris Luquette (Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen), and Andrew Knapp (Kenny Garrett) come together as a trio for an intimate, up-close show you simply cannot replicate at a 2,000-seat venue. Opener: Philly’s own Phillygrass. Tickets are extremely limited. Grab them now →
Black Squirrel Club has quietly become one of the best rooms for bluegrass in the city, and this double bill is a celebration of one year of monthly bluegrass nights there. Geraldine is a Maryland string band whose mantra is “Good Time Old Time,” fiddle tunes and songwriting rooted in Appalachian tradition. Midnight Flyer is one of Philly’s own, playing hard-driving traditional bluegrass since 2014. A pre-show jam runs from 7-8:30 PM — bring your instrument and you can get into the show for free. Tickets →
Chris Thile is one of the most gifted musicians alive, full stop. The MacArthur Fellow, Grammy winner, and former host of Live From Here has spent decades pushing the mandolin into places no one thought it could go — bluegrass, Bach, Radiohead, original composition — and making all of it feel inevitable. Seeing Thile solo is a rare thing, and the intimate Keswick Theatre is exactly the right room for it. Tickets →
Two of the most inventive pickers in progressive bluegrass, stripped down to an acoustic duo. Paul Hoffman has been the creative engine behind Greensky Bluegrass for two decades; Andy Dunnigan brings the melodic intensity he’s honed with The Lil Smokies. This is the kind of show where you find yourself three feet from musicians doing something exceptional, and you feel lucky to be in the room. Tickets →
Shadowgrass formed in 2014 at the Grayson County Fiddlers Convention in the Blue Ridge Mountains. A decade later they’re one of the most talked-about young bands in bluegrass: they and Mountain Grass Unit were two bands Billy Strings pointed to as the future of bluegrass in his 2025 IBMA World of Bluegrass keynote address. Catch them at Ardmore while they are still playing rooms of this size. Tickets →
Marty Stuart has been a keeper of the country music flame since he was a teenager playing mandolin in Lester Flatt’s band. He’s collected enough rhinestone suits and vintage guitars to fill a museum — because he literally has. His Fabulous Superlatives are one of the tightest road bands in the business, and Stuart’s shows are part history lesson, part revival meeting, part honky tonk party. This one is not to be missed. Tickets →
Alison Brown is one of the most distinctive banjo voices of her generation — a Harvard-educated former investment banker who walked away from Wall Street to pursue a life in bluegrass, and the music world is better for it. Her playing is melodically sophisticated and rhythmically inventive, drawing from jazz as much as bluegrass. Sellersville Theater is a beautiful, intimate room worth the drive. Tickets →
Two of the most celebrated figures in contemporary bluegrass come together to celebrate the release of their new duo album We Like Jim & Jesse! — a tribute to first-generation bluegrass innovators Jim & Jesse and the Virginia Boys. Daves is Grammy-nominated for his work with Chris Thile and hailed by the New York Times as “a leading light of the New York bluegrass scene.” Jolliff is one of the finest mandolinists working today, fresh off touring with Béla Fleck’s My Bluegrass Heart. Intimate venue, world-class players. Tickets →
The 45th annual Wind Gap Bluegrass Festival is the annual harbinger of festival season, with four days of music, camping, workshops, and late-night picking sessions in the hills of northeastern Pennsylvania. This year’s lineup is one of the strongest in recent memory: Sister Sadie, High Horse, Shelby Means, Nick Chandler and Delivered, Joe Cirotti Trio, Blue Octane, Trey Hensley, Danny Paisley and the Southern Grass, Wood Belly, Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road, Wyatt Ellis, the Cody Sisters, and more. Weekend camping is included with your ticket — and if you want electric, grab it early, as those sites sold out weeks in advance last year. Tickets →
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