The Blue Canyon Boys are equal parts purists and innovators when it comes to Bluegrass: they stay true to the form’s roots while constantly re-imagining their relationship to tradition. The result is a dynamic mix of stirring standards, culture bending arrangements, and original songs--all built on the bedrock of their collective bluegrass mastery.
Ever since founding members Jason Hicks and Gary Dark started the band in 2006, the Blue Canyon Boys have exploded on the blue grass scene with their brother-duet style, tight instrumentation, rousing lyrics and infectious humor. After winning first place 2008 Telluride Bluegrass festival band contest, the Blue Canyon Boys went off at full tilt, taking the bluegrass circuit by storm, performing in illustrious venues across the country as well as internationally.
Their distinctive sound, honed from over a decade of performing together, moves easily from fast and furious picking to heart-breakingly tender harmonies. This bluegrass fearsome quartet consists of Gary Dark on mandolin, Jason Hicks on guitar, Drew Garrett on bass, and Chris Roszell on banjo.
Their latest album eponymously called "The Blue Canyon Boys" (2016), is perhaps their most polished and personal yet. Classic bluegrass, clean and raw, blends seamlessly with the band’s homegrown compositions and a riveting take on Pink Floyd’s “Time.”
No matter the material, the band’s musical prowess never wavers. Harmonies that bring you to your knees alternate with a cohesive, high-octane pulse that gets your right back on your feet. The tension between the emotion-stirring aspect of melody as well as the surging physicality of rhythm always finds a way to resolve. The cumulative effect, when one hears the band—either live or on their albums—is one of redemptive, irrepressible joy. This is high lonesome sound at its best: heard through spot on harmonies and fierce rhythms, always with the reminder that as long as the music plays we are never quite alone.