Pinecastle Records’ Scott Vestal, in close collaboration with The Trailblazers’ Jonah Horton, announce the next iteration of one of the most popular bluegrass-by-committee instrumental compilations in the genre’s recent history—Bluegrass 2022. The project also features Cody Kilby (The Travelin’ McCourys), Byron House (The Sam Bush Band), Tim Crouch (Dolly Parton), and Randy Kohrs (Tom T. Hall), among others.

The concept of the project is to bring together the hottest players in bluegrass to deliver contemporary approaches to favorite tunes, all while staying true to the traditional flair fans of the classic series have come to expect. This year is no exception, and featured bringing these six renowned musicians together on the same project for the first time.

Bluegrass 2022 is the follow-up to the previous Bluegrass 2020. Following its release, that record went on to achieve critical-acclaim. In addition to charting several songs on bluegrass radio charts, it was also a finalist last year for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA) “Album of the Year” category.

The series first turned heads with Bluegrass ‘95, which was highly praised and even won the IBMA award for “Recorded Event of the Year.” The ongoing premise is that each collaborative album represents whom Vestal is actively sharing recording sessions. It was that inspiration and connectivity that made it possible for Pinecastle to continue to commit these memorable works to recordings. Bringing in the current lineup for 2022 is no coincidence. These players are all often recording at Vestal’s Digital Underground studio outside of Nashville, TN.

The album’s first single “EMD” (short for “Eat My Dust”), released on Jan. 7, 2022, is a remake of the classic tune written by David Grisman. The original artwork is by Indiana artist CW Mundy.