The Kickin Grass Band
Raleigh, North Carolina, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
"“The Kickin Grass Band impresses with good vocals, blending solid instrumentation, personality and youthful energy. They are original and upbeat. Fine bluegrass entertainment!” "
- Gracie Muldoon, Nashville News
"“I have had my eyes (and ears) tuned to this wonderfully innovative band from its very beginnings almost 7 years ago”"
- Barry Poss, Founder of Sugar Hill Records - Barry Poss
"When a 'non-country' audience gives a group such as Kickin Grass a standing ovation, you know there is something special happening."
- Bill Wilson, Director, City of Morganton Municipal Auditorium - City of Morganton Municipal Auditorium
"I was so impressed with them... As someone who attends Merlefest annually, this group matches up with any group that plays there."
- J.R. Steigerwald, Executive Directory, Downtown Hickory Events - Downtown Hickory Events
"They have originality, spunk, wonderful harmonies, and are extremely audience-friendly, all of which makes for a very enjoyable live show. You will love Kickin Grass!"
– Buddy Michaels, WKXU’s Weekend Festival - WKXU Weekend Festival
"Bluegrass fans will enjoy this album immensley. The band picks with power and authority and the vocals are sung with passion and grace."
- Dave Higgs, Reviewer, Bluegrass Now - Dave Higgs, Reviewer
"This group is a force to be reckoned with. They have great original songs, powerful arrangements, and their execution is awesome! And to top it all off, they are all wonderful people."
- Steve Dilling, IIIrd Tyme Out & Capital City Promotions - Capital City Promotions
"Your beautiful hamonies, your glorious pickin', and most of all, the joy and glee you perform with really made the afternoon. I look forward to having you all back."
- Kate Finlayson, Program Specialist, Town of Carrboro, NC - Town of Carrboro
"Everyone was instantly won over by the band's enthusiasm, song selection and performance. They have a very wide appeal, connecting with hard-core bluegrass music fans as well as folks who aren't particularly familiar with bluegrass music. "
- Milton Gore, Board Member, Community Music School - Community Music School
Discography
Albums:
The Kickin Grass Band (self-titled)
On The Short Rows
Backroads
Singles: "Life is Not A Guarantee" on Prime Cuts of Bluegrass Volume 69, "Backroads" NC Biofuels Compilation, "Hometown" 91.5 WUNC Best of WUNC Vol. 13, "Meaning of Christmas" Have a Holly Raleigh Christmas Vol. 2, " Meaning of Christmas" Christmas in Carolina Vol 1.
Radio airplay: multiple tracks on national bluegrass radio, including Nashville Public Radio's "Bluegrass Breakdown", XM Radio, Sirius Radio, Pandora, Music Choice bluegrass channel and hundreds of radio stations across the US in prime bluegrass and Americana markets.
Photos
Bio
Ten years in the making, Raleigh, NC based bluegrass and Americana group the Kickin Grass Band has made its mark on the roots music scene with strong voices and original songs that reflect the depth and breadth of the human experience. Consisting of mandolinist Jamie Dawson; fiddler Pattie Hopkins; bassist Patrick Walsh; banjo player Hank Smith; and guitarist, songwriter and signature lead vocalist, Lynda Dawson—a musician whom Nashville Public Radio's Bluegrass Breakdown host Dave Higgs praises as “a truly gifted songwriter”—the Kickin Grass Band draws on traditional and contemporary bluegrass to create a sound that is equally vintage and progressive.
The Raleigh News & Observer has praised the group's recordings as, “a delightful display of hard-driving, lyrically nuanced bluegrass,” and Sugar Hill Records founder, Barry Poss, recalls, “I have had my eyes (and ears) tuned to this wonderfully innovative band from its very beginnings...Kickin Grass’s artistry has taken a giant leap forward. They are in a whole different league now. ”
The Kickin Grass Band maintains a steady touring schedule across North America. The band is on the 25th Annual MerleFest lineup in April of 2012, and has made recent appearances in Canada, Arizona, New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida and across North Carolina and the Piedmont.
Since their start in early 2002 as the accompanying band for the Apple Chill Cloggers, the Kickin Grass Band has released three albums of original and traditional music showcasing their grasp of tradition as well as a spirit of adventuring into the new frontier of an ever-evolving Americana genre: Backroads (2003), On the Short Rows (2006), and self-titled The Kickin Grass Band (2008). Their albums have caught the attention of the Associated Press, Bluegrass and Americana publications, as well as established and new media outlets and have received international radio airplay and placement on the Roots Music Radio Chart. A fourth album is slated for 2012 featuring the current lineup and an array of new material to keep listeners along for the adventuresome ride.
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