WILMINGTON — Billy Strings, the undisputed king of jam grass, almost came to Wilmington. Strings was scheduled for a three-night run at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater the second weekend of May of 2020 that promised to be one for the ages.
But it was not to be.
The Covid-19 pandemic wiped out the shows and thereafter Strings blew up and has made Koko Booth Amphitheater in Cary his North Carolina venue of choice in this part of the state.
But since Covid ended, a wealth of jam grass — or progressive bluegrass — bands have exploded onto the scene. One of the biggest, Mountain Grass Unit, will take the stage at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater on Saturday, April 11.
Along with Mountain Grass Unit, Colorado bands are leading the progressive bluegrass renaissance. Magoo, The Fretliners and Clay Street Unit (more country/Americana), all hail from the Centennial State and are trailblazing their own paths and building strong fan bases.
At February’s Winter Wondergrass in Steamboat Springs, CO, all these younger bands were on the lineup.
“The wealth of rising and emerging artists has been a wonderful evolution to watch through the last several years,” Scotty Stoughton, Winter Wondergrass founder and promoter, said. “They’re playing great shows but also paying homage to the past artists that influenced them and honoring the history of the music. Seeing them inspire the audience is a really cool evolution.”
Hailing from Birmingham, Mountain Grass Unit is a four-piece from (mostly) Alabama. The band consists of Drury Anderson (mandolin, vocals), Luke Black (guitar, vocals), Josiah Nelson (fiddle, vocals) and Sam Wilson (bass,vocals).
Being from the South, the band is known to play covers The Allman Brothers Band (“Midnight Rider”), Widespread Panic (“Ain’t Life Grand” and “All Time Low”), and Lynyrd Skynyrd (“Tuesday’s Gone”). They also play The Grateful Dead (“Deal”), Beatles (“Get Back”) and more popular rock songs, on which they overlay their bluegrass stylings.
Mountain Grass Unit released their debut album, “Places I’ve Been,” in 2022 and followed with their “Runnin’ From Trouble” EP in 2024. But 2025 was their true breakthrough year — the band played more than 100 shows.
In addition to providing support for jam grass stalwarts Greensky Bluegrass (who play Greenfield Lake Amphitheater on April 16), Infamous Stringdusters and the Kitchen Dwellers, Mountain Grass Unit sold out over 30 headline shows. They also played prominent festivals like Telluride Bluegrass, DelFest, and Northlands.
Mountain Grass Unit has performed exclusive live sessions with music publications Paste, Relix, and No Depression. They capped off 2025 by winning Momentum Artist of the Year at the International Bluegrass Music Awards.
The band will release their second full-length album later this summer. Meanwhile, they continue to spin heads around with their sharp picking, dizzying improvisation and four-part harmonies.
Saturday night’s show at GLA is your chance to claim “I saw them when” as they continue to ascend on the music scene.
At Port City Daily, we aim to keep locals informed on top-of-mind news facing the tri-county region. To support our work and help us reach more people in 2026, please, consider helping one of two ways: Subscribe here or make a one-time contribution here.
We appreciate your ongoing support.
