FreshGrass Announces Finalists for 2019 FreshGrass Awards…

June 19, 2019 Brian Carroll

One of the most inspiring and exciting things FreshGrass has done in recent years is implement the friendly competition of the FreshGrass awards. More often than not if you attend one of the battle showcases you end up seeing a band or musician you fall in love with and will be front and center for the following festival year. This year with the line up they have chosen for the award finalists it seems to be no different.

Check out the finalists below and be sure to swing by the competition sets during the festival September 20-22. Tickets are still available.

FreshGrass Band Award Finalists

The Trailblazers (above): An award-winning band from North Carolina, carrying tradition and pursuing progression, The Trailblazers’ sound was created by friendship and love of music — it continues to evolve as they traverse new trails of sound.

Meadow Mountain: These five close friends have logged thousands of hours playing together. Meadow Mountain has given a TEDx talk on the history of bluegrass, opened for Del McCoury and Sam Bush, and worked as the house band on a cruise ship. Now that’s a resume!

Blue Summit: Blue Summit is a genre-fluid band formed in 2016 — a remarkable group of young musicians who all grew up performing in the California bluegrass community. This foursome has been gaining traction with their smooth, earthy sound, sharing their music all over the west coast

No Depression Singer-Songwriter Award Finalists

Anna Tivel (above): Anna Tivel reaches for that thread of understanding with her music. There are hundreds of thousands of miles on her touring odometer, each town a tangled web of both heartache and small reasons to believe.

Raye Zaragoza: Award-winning singer-songwriter Raye Zaragoza carries an acoustic guitar and a message. You’ll love her quiet yet powerful song, In the River, written in response to the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Abigail Lapell: Call it prairie noir or Canadiana desert rock — Toronto songwriter Abigail Lapell sings haunting, gorgeous modern folk songs. Her sophomore album, Hide Nor Hair, might just knock your socks off.

FreshGrass Banjo Award Finalists

Max Allard (above): This 17-year-old banjo player from Chicago has studied at the windy city’s storied Old Town School of Folk Music. Allard plays 3-finger, melodic, single string, and clawhammer style and writes compositions, often for solo banjo.

Alex Edwards: The Trailblazers boast Salisbury, North Carolina banjoist Alex Edwards among its secret weapons. Influenced by traditional and new grass style players, Alex’s accolades come in as quickly as his fingers move!

Brad Kolodner: Baltimore-based clawhammer banjoist Brad Kolodner represents the next generation of Old-Time musicians pushing the boundaries of the tradition into uncharted territory.

FreshGrass Mandolin Award Finalists

Tristan Scroggins (above): With a signature raw mandolin groove, keen sensitivity to style, and artistic innovation — 24-year-old mandolinist Tristan Scroggins is quickly becoming a highly influential voice of both music and community in the world of bluegrass.

Teo Quale: Teo Quale, age 12, has been delighting audiences with his inventive and heavily grooved mandolin playing since he could pick up the instrument. As fearless and talented as he is young, Teo plays with creativity that never abandons the groove.

Eli Slocumb: 18-year-old Eli Slocumb hails from Colorado where he’s been playing mandolin for over a decade. He’s a rising sophomore at Berklee College of Music next fall and leads his own bluegrass band

FreshGrass Fiddle Award Finalists

Annie Staninec (above): Annie Staninec was destined to play. Born to parents steeped in traditional music, she began mastering the fiddle by age four. Annie now lives in Portland, Oregon, and has joined national acts including David Grisman, Darol Anger, and Rod Stewart (yes, Rod Stewart!).

Carley Arrowood: Carley Arrowood of Union Mill, North Carolina has been playing fiddle for almost 13 years and has performed professionally with the husband-wife duo Darin & Brooke Aldridge. Arrowood has won several awards, including one of IBMA’s 2017 Instrumentalists of the Year.

Miles Quale: Miles Quale, age 15, is a fiddler from Alameda, California who plays with depth beyond his years. Showcasing his fierce edge and melodic sophistication, Miles is destined for the biggest stages in bluegrass