Telluride Bluegrass: Steep Canyon Rangers

16 Jun Telluride Bluegrass: Steep Canyon Rangers

“True bluegrass, when done well, is a thing of art and the Steep Canyon Rangers are the genre’s current Rembrandt,” Examiner.com

Scroll down to listen to an interview with lead vocals/guitar Woody Platt.

Steep Canyon Rangers, Photo by David McClister

Say the name Steep Canyon Rangers, more often than not, comedian/musician and respected banjo player Steve Martin comes to mind.

And the whole has proven greater than the sum of its parts.

After meeting at a party and clicking, Martin invited the band to tour and record with him. Their 2011 collaboration Rare Bird Alert was nominated for a Grammy, and later that year, the group won IBMA’s Entertainer of the Year Award. Steep Creek Rangers averages about 50 dates a year together, touring as Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers, most recently with the addition of special guest Edie Brickell. What has emerged is a collaboration of seven consummate musicians, who love creating music they are passionate about, spiced with humor. Collectively, Martin and Steep Canyon Rangers are proud to have exposed legions of new fans to bluegrass sounds.

The collaborations have stretched the Steep Canyon Rangers musically, and definitely broadened their horizons and experiences, which include appearances on Austin City Limits, the Late Show with David Letterman, and the Today Show, plus performances at Carnegie Hall, the Grand Ole Opry, MerleFest, Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit, as well as their own Mountain Song festival and Mountain Song at Sea cruise.

Also Telluride Bluegrass.

Steep Canyon Rangers and Steve Martin last performed in Telluride two years ago, in 2013, when the band played their own Main Stage set, then closed Thursday night with Martin and Brickell to wild applause and laughter.

Steep Canyon Rangers returns to the 42nd annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival to perform – alone – Saturday afternoon, 2:15 – 3:30 p.m. on the Main Stage, then at NightGrass at the Sheridan Opera House.

The Steep Canyon Rangers started off life as a group friends playing music together for fun. Now, after more than 12 years together, the group is instantly recognized as one of the most successful bluegrass band touring today.

Steep Canyon Ranger’s recordings, including Nobody Knows You (2012) and Tell the Ones I Love (2013), and their dynamic live performances have earned them accolades, including a Grammy for  Nobody Knows You and IBMA nods.

But most important to them is the devotion of their fans.

Seasoned and dynamic, Steep Canyon Rangers never fails to thrill audiences with instrumental dexterity and speed, compelling original songs – and the fun they obviously share on stage.

They group tours 125 and 150 dates per year, including time shared on stage with Martin and Brickell.

Tireless, Steep Canyon Rangers also runs its own musical happening, this year marking the 10th annual Mountain Song Festival in Brevard, North Carolina in September. And through a partnership with Oskar Blues Brewery, they put on a series of summer events to benefit CAN’d Aid Foundation,  formed as an immediate response to the massive flooding that devastated their hometowns of Lyons & Longmont, CO, in September 2013.

The Steep Canyon Rangers are Woody Platt (guitar), Graham Sharp (banjo), Charles Humphrey (bass), Mike Guggino (mandolin), Nicky Sanders (fiddle) and Mike Ashworth (box kit).

Woody Platt, Steep Canyon Rangers, Photo by Jacob Blickenstaff

The band will release a new album in August 2015.

To learn more about Woody Platt and his band, The Steep Canyon Rangers, click on our interview.