The Greencards

The Texas-based contemporary bluegrass trio the Greencards carries a fitting moniker. Mandolinist Kim Warner, fiddler Eamon McLoughlin, and bassist Carol Young left their English and Australian roots once they recognized those settings offered little support for their distinctly American sound. Drawing on their admiration for Ricky Skaggs and Bob Dylan while folding in touches of Fairport Convention and David Bowie, the musicians began performing in Lone Star State clubs. By 2004 they had captured the Best New Band prize at the Austin Music Awards and built a loyal following that counted Robert Earl Keen among its members. Their first recording, the independently issued Movin' On, also appeared that year and climbed the Americana chart to a peak position of number five. The following year the group joined Dualtone and entered the studio for its next project, recruiting sought-after engineer Gary Paczosa (Dolly Parton) to shape the sessions that produced Weather and Water. Issued in June 2005, the album stands as a finely captured set of ballads, instrumentals, and vocal harmonies fully competitive with work by Alison Krauss and Nickel Creek. Viridian arrived two years later.