Grassland Caravan

The third time's a charm for Tracy Ross. An oilfield machinist by trade and guitarist since age 21, he was a member of the Rock Bottom Ramblers, a band which won the People's Choice Award for Best Band by the OK Gazette in 2009, and finished runner-up in the Shiner Bock Rising Star Competition in Dallas, TX, 2010. That group ultimately dissolved, but Tracy remained committed to the belief that the simple, expressive nature of bluegrass music was due for a renaissance. He then met the young student and banjo player Sam Hochenauer, and with a couple other local musicians formed the short-lived Burlap Tuxedo. Disappointed by that group's failure but heartened by the success of bands such as Old Crow Medicine Show, Devil Makes Three, and Mumford and Sons, Tracy and Sam posted an online message in a bottle. The very same day, Chris Black, a bassist with a degree in music education and experience in orchestra, opera, music theatre, jazz, rock, pop, and mariachi, responded. The trio has been working hard together as Grassland Caravan ever since.

Grassland Caravan reflects the wide range of shared musical experiences in the national crossroads of Oklahoma. Grown in the same soil as Woody Guthrie, Wanda Jackson, JJ Cale, Leon Russell, and so many others, there is an undeniable sense of home in their music. They are also influenced by the great rock artists which have passed through the world's consciousness, including the Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, the Who, Bruce Springsteen, and more.

Grassland Caravan sets apart from other bands through a perfect coupling of maturity and experience to address timeless issues and the energy to deliver the message with a dagger. Unpretentious, unassuming, and genuine, Grassland Caravan is the old friend who pours you one whiskey to acknowledge the pain, and another to celebrate.