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Bluegrass Music: The 1990s-2000s

Historical context

Less is written about the development of bluegrass music in the 1990s and early 2000s. Bluegrass in the 1990s in some ways saw a continuation of what had happened in the 80s, with blending elements of popular music and culture with bluegrass instruments and musical sensibilities. Another sub genre emerged in the 1990s, colloquially known as “mash” or “mash grass”. In 2000, the Coen brothers’ film O Brother, Where Art Thou also sparked interest in the genre for many people who previously had not been familiar with it. Popular music and classical music continued to be an influence for bluegrass musicians in the early 2000s, reflecting generational trends.

This LibGuide ends with the early 2000s because as we get into more contemporary bluegrass, there are too many bands and players to list and there are more resources available for finding contemporary bluegrass recordings and other related materials.

Subject headings

"Bluegrass music -- 1991-2000"

Subject/author terms

 "Krauss, Alison, 1971-" "Lonesome River Band" , "Thile, Chris" "Nickel Creek (Musical group)", "Infamous Stringdusters (Musical group)"

Additional musicians by instrument

Bands and band leaders: New Coon Creek Girls, Nashville Bluegrass Band, Rhonda Vincent, James King, Crooked Still, Blue Highway, Dale Ann Bradley, Kathy Kallick, Claire Lynch

Banjo: Allison Brown, Sammy Shelor, Noam Pikelny

Bass: Missy Raines, Mike Bubb, Greg Garrison

Dobro: Sally Van Meter

Fiddle: Jason Carter, Casey Driessen, Brittany Haas, Gabe Witcher, Billy Contreras, Michael Cleveland

Mandolin: Adam Steffey, Tom Rozum, Mike Compton, Sierra Hull

Guitar: Chris Eldridge, Josh Williams

Highlighted archival materials

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