Bluegrass. Love it. This one is another weird category, though. So much modern bluegrass is just rehashing the old stuff, and while I love the old stuff... why bother? Here are a couple of albums that stood out. Are they really bluegrass anymore? Who cares?
First up, not a lot here is true bluegrass, but I'm With Her is a "supergroup" consisting of Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O'Donovan and Sara Watkins. Give me a choice, and I'd take a new Sarah Jarosz album, or a new Crooked Still album (O'Donovan's old band), but I can't knock this album. Watkins is good too, at the risk of damning with faint praise, but the company here is daunting. Here's "Game to Lose," from See You Around.
I think, though, if I have to pick one album, I'd go with Simon Chrisman & Wes Corbett's new duet album. Banjo and dulcimer. Weird combination, but it works. Best bluegrass-esque album of the year, in my opinion. I guess. There's probably still something out there that I didn't hear, though. Anyway, here's "Cape Ann."