The Boxcars

The Boxcars constitute a bluegrass ensemble whose combined experience draws from prior stints in Lonesome River Band, Union Station, Blue Moon Rising, and J.D. Crowe, among additional groups. Mandolinist Adam Steffey, guitarist Keith Garrett, banjoist Ron Stewart, bassist Harold Nixon, and fiddler John Bowman established the five-piece unit in late 2009. The veterans’ accumulated expertise surfaced at once on the self-titled debut they released in 2010. Momentum built swiftly, bringing dual honors at the 2011 International Bluegrass Music Awards (IBMA) as both Instrumental Group of the Year and Emerging Artist of the Year. Working with North Carolinian imprint Mountain Home Music Company, the band issued All In in 2012; the project climbed to number 12 on Billboard’s bluegrass chart. Their third full-length, It’s Just a Road, appeared in 2013 and secured the group’s initial Grammy nomination. The next year brought a personnel shift when John Bowman departed to focus on preaching and performing within church settings. Dobroist Gary Hultman, a newcomer, took his place and appeared for the first time on the quartet’s fourth album, Familiar with the Ground, issued in 2016.