Town Mountain

An acoustic string band steeped in honky tonk leanings and rock & roll energy, Town Mountain emerged from Asheville, North Carolina, during the second half of the 2000s. The group issued tightly constructed independent releases, among them Original Bluegrass and Roots Country in 2007 and Heroes & Heretics the following year. Within a decade their profile had expanded well past Appalachia, earning a Band of the Year honor from the International Bluegrass Music Association along with a steadily growing listenership. An intensive touring regimen and warmly received recordings such as the 2016 Southern Crescent, which reached the Top Ten, ultimately secured a deal with Americana imprint New West Records; that partnership yielded the band’s seventh studio effort, Lines in the Levee, in 2022.

The ensemble first assembled in 2005 when founding members Robert Greer on vocals and guitar and Jesse Langlais on banjo joined forces; the pair have remained the sole constants throughout the band’s history. Although grounded in bluegrass tradition, their sound also drew from the Band, Grateful Dead, and Bruce Springsteen, a blend evident on the two early albums they released in rapid succession. After signing with South Carolina’s Pinecastle label, Town Mountain delivered another consecutive pair of projects: Steady Operator in 2011 and Leave the Bottle in 2012. Their high-octane performances continued to attract fresh listeners in both rock venues and traditional festivals alike. A 2013 International Bluegrass Music Award further elevated their standing, and following the self-released 2014 live set Live at the Isis they climbed to number four on Billboard’s Bluegrass chart with Southern Crescent, issued by LoHi Records. By then the lineup had coalesced into the five-piece of Greer, Langlais, mandolinist Phil Barker, fiddler Bobby Britt, and bassist Zach Smith. Returning to independent status, the musicians put out the well-regarded New Freedom Blues on their own imprint in 2018, again landing inside the Top Ten.

With the addition of drummer Miles Miller, Town Mountain intensified the honky tonk and rock components of their approach on Lines in the Levee, their debut release for New West.