It’s hardly news that Asheville-based Steep Canyon Rangers is a world-class bluegrass band. They’ve been local stars for years, and they’ve been steadily increasing their fan base thanks to their Mountain Song at Sea bluegrass cruise. And their affiliation with a certain banjo-playing actor/comedian. In fact, it was with Steve Martin that the Rangers won a Grammy just last year, for the 2011 collaboration Rare Bird Alert.
In 2012, the Rangers released Nobody Knows You, which they recorded at Asheville’s Echo Mountain Studios. That album did not include contributions form Martin, but no matter — the word was out about the Rangers’ picking prowess. They took top honors (over bluegrass competition Dailey & Vincent, The Grascals, Noam Pikelny and Special Consensus) at the 55th Grammy Awards Ceremony, held yesterday.
The Rangers’ win was also a win for Echo Mountain. The local studio was responsible for three Grammy-nominated albums this year. Among those, Zac Brown Band’s Uncaged was named Best Country Album.
Here’s the Steep Canyon Rangers’ thank you, from back stage at the awards ceremony:
