Old Settler's Music Festival : Artists : Green Mountain Grass

The four band members in Green Mountain Grass are Dave Wilmoth (29, mandolin), Adam “Pickles” Moss (24, fiddle), Trevor Smith (18, banjo/guitar), and Jesse Dalton (25, upright bass). Together, they are folding together the sounds of traditional bluegrass, gypsy swing, folk, funk, reggae, and jazz to create their own stew of so-called gonzograss. In the spirit of the late-great gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson and inspired by the most vital endeavors in life, gonzograss is described by the band as “melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic mastery with heavy elements of sarcasm, quotes, humor, and exaggeration.” Bassist Jesse Dalton goes further to call it “a self-induced psychedelic frenzy of quick-witted talent as seen from the other side of the musical looking-glass.”

Originally hailing from the Midwest’s grass-roots-music hub, Champaign-Urbana, IL where they passed licks around front porch picking circles with folks that would go on to join Yonder Mountain String Band, Cornmeal, Leftover Salmon, and the How to Grow a Band, GMG has been picking their way into the acoustic bluegrass jam scene since 2001. That seems to have become much easier for them since they relocated in 2006 to Austin, TX with its reputation for live music. Since their move they have added Jesse Dalton, of San Marcos, TX and Trevor Smith, of Tucson, AZ, to their lineup and have maintained a frenetic tour schedule that keeps them moving from coast to coast. “We love being home,” says Dave Wilmoth, “but touring is really the only way to play for all the audiences we want to be in front of.” Eighteen-year-old banjo phenom Trevor Smith loves the adventures of being on the road too, but laments the fact that “we haven’t really gotten a chance to explore the rest of the galaxy yet.”

GMG has been playing well over 200 shows a year, most of which are on the road and a vast majority of which are within this solar system. In that time they consider themselves fortunate to have shared the stage with Hot Buttered Rum String Band, Billy Bright and the Two High String Band, Jeff Austin of Yonder Mountain String Band, Tony Furtado, Dubconscious, and have opened for acts such as the legendary Wailers, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Leftover Salmon, Peter Rowan, and Jazz Mandolin Project. They have also managed to appear on dozens of radio shows across the country, and have lent their talents to numerous benefits supporting causes they believe in.

• Iron & Wine
• Amos Lee
• Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
• Railroad Earth
• Lissie
• Steep Canyon Rangers
• Psychograss
• Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
• JJ Grey & Mofro
• Greensky Bluegrass
• Sarah Jarosz
• Marshall Crenshaw
• The Bottle Rockets
• Bob Schneider
• Gaelic Storm
• Audie Blaylock and Redline
• James McMurtry
• Dale Ann Bradley
• Sunday Service
• Flounders Without Eyes
• Ha Ha Tonka
• Slim Richey's Jitterbug Vipers
• Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
• The Wheeler Brothers
• Eilen Jewell
• New Country Rehab
• Pine Leaf Boys
• Fiddle Workshop with Darol Anger
• Yoga
• Sam Baker
• The Blue Hit
• SHEL
• Vocals with Doyle Lawson
• Harmonica with Cara Cooke
• 2012 Youth Talent Competition Winner
• Mandolin with Sarah Jarosz & Joe Walsh
• Shakers with Mike Meadows of Swan Percussion
• Banjo Workshop with Tony Trischka
• Youth Talent Competition
• Youth Competition Winner Grace London
• Songwriting with Dale Ann Bradley & Steve Gulley