missy raines…

A beloved figure in bluegrass and a pioneering force in acoustic music, Missy Raines' adventurous musical spirit has always been her compass. Launching her career with experimental bluegrass outfit Cloud Valley, Raines next toured the country with Eddie and Martha Adcock. Soon she was lending her bass skills to the Masters (Adcock, Kenny Baker, Josh Graves and Jesse McReynolds). Raines joined Claire Lynch's popular Front Porch Band, and developed a successful duo with band mate Jim Hurst. Their CDs and live performances pushed the envelope on how much music two people with two acoustic instruments can make. A stint with the Brother Boys opened Raines' eyes to the value of spontaneity and immediacy in her musical approach.

Missy Raines is now stepping out to make a longtime dream come true: creating a fusion of bluegrass virtuosity, jazz-tinged groove and a song-driven sensibility with a hot band.

• Seven time International Bluegrass Music Association Bass Player of the Year
• Top 5 Bluegrass Album of the Year (Chicago Tribune)
• Has played with first generation bluegrass greats and with the rising stars of today's bluegrass
• Critically acclaimed playing and singing with the Claire Lynch Band, the Brother Boys, and Jim Hurst & Missy Raines

…and the new hip

Resonator guitarist Michael Witcher, a key player in the California music scene has logged formative stints with Laurie Lewis, Sean and Sara Watkins, and Jon Brion. At 27, his impressive credits include performing with Peter Rowan and Tony Rice, Dolly Parton, Benmont Tench, Laurel Canyon Ramblers and the Witcher Brothers. Sessions include recordings with Dwight Yoakam, Fernando Ortega, Joan Osborn, and Todd Phillips. Mike's expressive solos are at once musical and technically complex. With a strong vocabulary of the instrument, and a keen drive for the cutting edge, Mike excels in building interesting and well-crafted solos on the fly; always creating a dynamic intensity that pulls the listener in. An original member of the new hip, Mike moved to Nashville in the spring of 2007.

A protégé of Matt Flinner, Ethan Ballinger is making waves in the mandolin world at the ripe old age of 21. The son of the Cluster Pluckers' Dale and Kris Ballinger, Ethan pursued his own path taking up rock and blues electric guitar. Coming full circle, Ethan has now turned to the mandolin to channel the diverse influences of jazz, bluegrass and rock into acoustic music. His debut CD, “Wish Upon a Falling Star” was described by MandolinCafe.com as "The most interesting mandolin CD of the year to our ears...A fascinating debut CD by this Nashville based musician." His compositions are an integral part of the band's sound and the ease at which he moves from mandolin to guitar to mandola is seamless. He is currently attending Belmont University as a mandolin major.

National Flatpicking Guitar Champion Dillon Hodges is an old hand at championships: when he was 12 he won his first national contest, although it was less than two years after picking up the guitar. A month after turning 16, he won at the 36th Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS - the most prestigious guitar contest in the country - while competing against forty of the country’s top flatpickers. Eight months later, he joined missy raines & the new hip, bringing a startling amount of ability and a talent for bluegrass and jazz. Dillon is a student at the University of North Alabama.

Currently, drummer veterans, Doug Belote (Jerry Douglas, Larry Carlton) and Tommy Giampietro (Jeff Coffin, Beegie Adair, Victor Wooten) are sharing percussion duties with the band.