Each and every year I attend FreshGrass Festival one thing is for certain, I am going to walk away seeing/hearing great music and much of that great music is coming from artists that I have just discovered that very weekend. Whether its during the actual competitions, catching the band who took home the prize the previous year on their main stage debut, the court yard stage or deep in the cavernous halls of Mass MoCa for pop up sets, there is no shortage of new and exciting talent reverberating off of the walls of the festival. A big part of that is because of the very nature and core values that the promoters hold dear. That being to present the best music possible, with up and comers sharing the spotlight with legends and long time favorite national acts.

The FreshGrass awards are “a cornerstone of our weekend celebrating the freshest talent on the festival scene, with 15 finalists competing for prizes totaling more than $30,000 in cash and prizes” and without fail, each year I have attended the fest I have found a new favorite as a result of these friendly and supportive competitions. Even in years following, forgoing sets from old favorites to catch some of the previous winners in their own main stage sets.

More info on the finalists in each category below, but be sure to grab your tickets today and find your new favorite in fresh talent at Freshgrass next month!

Freshgrass is in North Adams, MA at Mass MoCa and takes place September 24-26th this year.

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The Band Finalists

Circus No. 9: Circus No. 9 is East Tennessee’s own progressive bluegrass outfit, often blurring the lines between bluegrass, jazz, and rock. Described as “John Hartford meets John Coltrane,” the group has appeared alongside artists David Grisman, Bryan Sutton, and Larry Keel, among others.

Max Schwartz Bluegrass Band: Now based in Miami, FL, Max Schwartz hails from Berkeley, CA, and has gathered the best of his bluegrass-playing friends to join him as the talent-saturated Max Schwartz Bluegrass Band. 

Noah y Maurizio: Noah y Maurizio burst onto the progressive acoustic-music scene in 2020 with their debut album Acoustic Travelogue. Combining North and South American traditional music with an improvisatory jazz approach, Noah y Maurizio gives engaging and evocative performances reminiscent of David Grisman’s quintet

The Banjo Finalists

Megan Mendenhall: Sharing her birthday with banjo-great Earl Scruggs, Megan Mendenhall’s talents were destined from the start. Picking three-finger style since she was nine, this now 15-year-old dynamo’s lightning-fast fingerpicking is making waves.

Tray Wellington: Tray Wellington’s love for music bloomed at an early age, first picking up the trombone before banjo stole his heart and hands. Now 20, he’s already racked up numerous accolades, including two International Bluegrass Music Awards.

Max Schwartz: Highly acclaimed as both a bluegrass and jazz musician, Max Schwartz has been called “an acoustic master” by the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, and is a two-time member of the Grammy Jazz Combo, and won the 2019 RockyGrass Banjo Competition.

 

The Fiddle Finalists

Ella Jordan: Ella Jordan is a fiddler and singer from central Texas. She graduated from Berklee College of Music while still in her teens and is the youngest ever winner of the Old Settlers Youth Competition.

Marina Pendleton: Marina Pendleton picked up her first (tiny) fiddle at the age of two, cutting her teeth in the very-close-to-homegrown Pendleton Family Fiddlers. Marina’s now a versatile multi-instrumentalist, but it’s her fiddling talents that have her taking home countless awards.

Sofía Chiarandini: Like several of her fellow finalists, Sofía Chiarandini has gone from the Berklee College of Music to the FreshGrass stage. She’s here after training with FreshGrass mainstays such as Noam Pikelny, Bruce Molsky,

 

The Guitar Finalists

Ben Garnett: A notable emerging voice in the American acoustic music scene, Ben Garnett’s roots are firmly planted in both the bluegrass and jazz communities. And it’s a melding of these two traditions in an informed, sincere, and, at times, radical fashion that sets him apart.

Korey Brodsky: Korey Brodsky is a Boston-based mandolinist and guitarist with an early start in bluegrass music. He’s been featured in numerous publications such as Flatpicking Guitar Magazine and Bluegrass Unlimited and was a 2013 IBMA Youth All-Star.

Sam Leslie: Born and bred in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies, Sam Leslie’s musical family had him strumming since he was young. After five formative years at the Berklee College of Music, Sam’s making a name for himself in Nashville, Tennessee.

 

The Mandolin Finalists

Thomas Cassell: Circus No. 9 boasts Virginia’s mandolin breakout, Thomas Cassell, among its secret weapons. Now a resident of East Tennessee, he’s cultivating new and progressive original music all through the lens of the mandolin.

Sam Leslie: Sam Leslie’s talents don’t stop at the guitar; this multi-instrumentalist will also be competing as a mandolin finalist. As a performer, composer, and sound engineer, Sam’s breadth of knowledge across fields and genres enhances every note he plays. 

Dylan McCarthy: Dylan McCarthy discovered his love for mandolin while at Berklee College of Music and quickly took off running. In 2019 he took home first place in the RockyGrass Mandolin Championship, and 2020 saw his debut album release, Lost & Found.