The Dirty Grass Players

With a nod to the past and a wink to the future behind their sunglasses, Baltimore's The Dirty Grass Players have been pushing bluegrass to the forefront since 2015. As convincing on a 10-minute jam as they are on a 2-minute classic, they find an intersection between progress and tradition that, in one set, could inspire Flatt & Scruggs to reunite, then break up all over again. With harmonies to please any purist, compositions fresh enough to have been written tomorrow, and improvisations that fearlessly stride to the end of every limb, this band can play as clean as anybody but isn't afraid to get a little dirty.

After starting with jams between founders Ben Kolakowski (guitar) and Ryan Rogers (mandolin), DGP quickly made a name in the Baltimore scene before hitting the road. Since then, they've toured the US and Europe and made appearances at festivals like Grey Fox, DelFest, Dark Star Jubilee, ROMP, Bristol Rhythm & Roots, and the Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival. With Connor Murray on bass since 2021 and Sam Guthridge on banjo since 2024, the band is on the road with a reinvigorated lineup.

With two albums and a slew of singles, their latest full-length, “Shiny Side Up”, was produced by Travelin' McCourys’ guitarist Cody Kilby and reveals a band probing bluegrass's possibilities with dark themes and adventurous playing. In its praise of the album, Bluegrass Unlimited says, “Shiny Side Up validates the arrival of the Dirty Grass Players onto the scene and shows bluegrass is in good hands going forward." Their first single with the new lineup, a cover of Jimi Hendrix's “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” reimagines the rock classic with a driving bluegrass arrangement, making a compelling case that sometimes looking to the roots is the most inventive approach a band can take.