The Nashville Bluegrass Band

The Nashville Bluegrass Band is an American bluegrass music ensemble founded in 1984. The group's members first played together in 1984 as a backing band for Vernon Oxford and Minnie Pearl; each of the members were established musicians from the Nashville bluegrass community. They signed to Rounder Records and recorded their Béla Fleck-produced debut, My Native Home, in 1985. Incorporating elements of black gospel and spirituals, then a rarity in... more

The Nashville Bluegrass Band is an American bluegrass music ensemble founded in 1984. The group's members first played together in 1984 as a backing band for Vernon Oxford and Minnie Pearl; each of the members were established musicians from the Nashville bluegrass community. They signed to Rounder Records and recorded their Béla Fleck-produced debut, My Native Home, in 1985. Incorporating elements of black gospel and spirituals, then a rarity in bluegrass, they became critical and popular successes both in America and abroad. The group toured in some 20 countries and were the first bluegrass band to ever play in China. The group continued to record for Rounder and Sugar Hill into the 1990s; two of the albums, 1993's Waitin' for the Hard Times to Go and 1995's Unleashed, won Grammy awards for Best Bluegrass Album. They were also nominated for a Grammy for 1998's American Beauty. After the departure of bassist Gene Libbea and mandolinist Roland White in 1998, the group went on a brief... less