Biography
Although North Carolina's Steep Canyon Rangers had already built a following through their progressive bluegrass approach, their visibility increased sharply once actor and banjoist Steve Martin joined forces with them in 2009. From the outset, the 2001 release Old Dreams and New Dreams positioned the group among the era's more forward-thinking traditional bluegrass ensembles. Following multiple International Bluegrass Music Association honors, they secured an initial Grammy nomination in 2011 for Rare Bird Alert, the Steve Martin & Steep Canyon Rangers collaboration, and claimed the prize the next year with Nobody Knows You. Into the following decade the band continued stretching genre limits, joining Boyz II Men for the 2020 bluegrass, soul, and R&B hybrid Be Still Moses and emphasizing their Appalachian folk leanings on the vivid 2023 set Morning Shift.
Graham Sharp, who handles banjo and harmony vocals, first connected with future bandmates Woody Platt on guitar and lead vocals and Charles R. Humphrey III on bass and harmony vocals during their shared time at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1999. United by a shared passion for acoustic sounds, the three began holding casual jam sessions that gradually steered them toward bluegrass repertoire and its classic material. Mandolinist Mike Guggino, a longtime acquaintance of Platt's, supplied the decisive push toward a full bluegrass identity; his mountain cabin near campus also served as the quartet's early practice site.
Initially focused on academics and non-musical professions, none of the participants had prior band experience, yet they soon recognized that their emerging sound—blending conventional and progressive bluegrass with country and rock elements—transcended mere friendly pick sessions. By graduation, fiddler Nicky Sanders had entered the lineup, and sufficient live opportunities allowed the Steep Canyon Rangers to abandon day jobs for a full-time career.
While occasional bluegrass covers appeared in performances, original material quickly emerged as the band's core strength, with Sharp, Humphrey, and Guggino each supplying songs that drew listeners from bluegrass, country, folk, blues, and jam-band circles. After leaving campus the group toured extensively, appearing in folk and rock clubs alongside conventional bluegrass stages. Their debut, Old Dreams and New Dreams, arrived in 2001 on the band's own imprint; Mr. Taylor's New Home followed in 2002 via the independent Bonfire label; and the self-titled Steep Canyon Rangers became their first Rebel release in 2004. The subsequent One Dime at a Time, captured largely live in the studio, earned the IBMA Emerging Artist Award in 2006, while its title track reached the top of the Bluegrass Unlimited chart.
Already familiar to jam-band listeners, the Rangers further cultivated that audience with a ragtime rendition of the Grateful Dead's "Don't Ease Me In" on Lovin' Pretty Women, an album nominated for IBMA Album of the Year. Deep in the Shade, issued in 2009, underscored their ongoing affinity for gospel. Side projects continued apace: the band backed Flatt & Scruggs vocalist Curly Seckler in 2008, and in 2009 Steve Martin enlisted them as his touring unit for The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo. Their appearance at San Francisco's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival that year reached an expanded audience of former hippies and boomers, and Martin stayed aboard for Rare Bird Alert in 2011, which included contributions from Paul McCartney and the Chicks. The group's Rounder debut, Nobody Knows You, surfaced in 2012; Tell the Ones I Love followed in 2013, produced by Larry Campbell and tracked largely live at Levon Helm's Woodstock studio.
As demand rose, the Steep Canyon Rangers maintained a steady touring schedule both independently and alongside Martin. When Martin and Edie Brickell issued Love Has Come for You in 2013 and played select dates, the Rangers participated, resulting in the live release Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers featuring Edie Brickell Live. Radio, the band's ninth album and first to feature new percussionist Mike Ashworth, appeared in 2015 under Jerry Douglas's production. Martin's second studio project with the group, The Long-Awaited Album, arrived in September 2017, succeeded in 2018 by Out in the Open, produced by Joe Henry and marking the tenth studio long-player. North Carolina Songbook, recorded live at Merlefest 2019, presented an eclectic survey of works by notable Carolinians including Ola Belle Reed and Thelonious Monk, while 2020's Be Still Moses fused bluegrass and soul with assistance from the Asheville Symphony and Boyz II Men. Later that year Arm in Arm paired inventive arrangements with rooted songcraft and logged sixteen straight weeks on Billboard's Bluegrass Albums chart. The band resurfaced in 2023 with Morning Shift, an eclectic collection anchored in Appalachian folk traditions.
Graham Sharp, who handles banjo and harmony vocals, first connected with future bandmates Woody Platt on guitar and lead vocals and Charles R. Humphrey III on bass and harmony vocals during their shared time at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1999. United by a shared passion for acoustic sounds, the three began holding casual jam sessions that gradually steered them toward bluegrass repertoire and its classic material. Mandolinist Mike Guggino, a longtime acquaintance of Platt's, supplied the decisive push toward a full bluegrass identity; his mountain cabin near campus also served as the quartet's early practice site.
Initially focused on academics and non-musical professions, none of the participants had prior band experience, yet they soon recognized that their emerging sound—blending conventional and progressive bluegrass with country and rock elements—transcended mere friendly pick sessions. By graduation, fiddler Nicky Sanders had entered the lineup, and sufficient live opportunities allowed the Steep Canyon Rangers to abandon day jobs for a full-time career.
While occasional bluegrass covers appeared in performances, original material quickly emerged as the band's core strength, with Sharp, Humphrey, and Guggino each supplying songs that drew listeners from bluegrass, country, folk, blues, and jam-band circles. After leaving campus the group toured extensively, appearing in folk and rock clubs alongside conventional bluegrass stages. Their debut, Old Dreams and New Dreams, arrived in 2001 on the band's own imprint; Mr. Taylor's New Home followed in 2002 via the independent Bonfire label; and the self-titled Steep Canyon Rangers became their first Rebel release in 2004. The subsequent One Dime at a Time, captured largely live in the studio, earned the IBMA Emerging Artist Award in 2006, while its title track reached the top of the Bluegrass Unlimited chart.
Already familiar to jam-band listeners, the Rangers further cultivated that audience with a ragtime rendition of the Grateful Dead's "Don't Ease Me In" on Lovin' Pretty Women, an album nominated for IBMA Album of the Year. Deep in the Shade, issued in 2009, underscored their ongoing affinity for gospel. Side projects continued apace: the band backed Flatt & Scruggs vocalist Curly Seckler in 2008, and in 2009 Steve Martin enlisted them as his touring unit for The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo. Their appearance at San Francisco's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival that year reached an expanded audience of former hippies and boomers, and Martin stayed aboard for Rare Bird Alert in 2011, which included contributions from Paul McCartney and the Chicks. The group's Rounder debut, Nobody Knows You, surfaced in 2012; Tell the Ones I Love followed in 2013, produced by Larry Campbell and tracked largely live at Levon Helm's Woodstock studio.
As demand rose, the Steep Canyon Rangers maintained a steady touring schedule both independently and alongside Martin. When Martin and Edie Brickell issued Love Has Come for You in 2013 and played select dates, the Rangers participated, resulting in the live release Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers featuring Edie Brickell Live. Radio, the band's ninth album and first to feature new percussionist Mike Ashworth, appeared in 2015 under Jerry Douglas's production. Martin's second studio project with the group, The Long-Awaited Album, arrived in September 2017, succeeded in 2018 by Out in the Open, produced by Joe Henry and marking the tenth studio long-player. North Carolina Songbook, recorded live at Merlefest 2019, presented an eclectic survey of works by notable Carolinians including Ola Belle Reed and Thelonious Monk, while 2020's Be Still Moses fused bluegrass and soul with assistance from the Asheville Symphony and Boyz II Men. Later that year Arm in Arm paired inventive arrangements with rooted songcraft and logged sixteen straight weeks on Billboard's Bluegrass Albums chart. The band resurfaced in 2023 with Morning Shift, an eclectic collection anchored in Appalachian folk traditions.
Albums
Singles
Live
