Steep Canyon Rangers Streaming New Album 'Next Act'

(Yep Roc Records) Next Act, the 15th studio album from GRAMMY Award-winning bluegrass and Americana group Steep Canyon Rangers is out now on Yep Roc Records; listen here.

In support of Next Act, the band will be on the road bringing their bluegrass sound to theaters, festivals, and performing arts centers across the country. The extensive tour includes a series of dates with Steve Martin & Martin Short, appearances on The Grand Ole Opry and Mountain Stage, and festivals including Big Ponderoo Music + Art Festival, RockyGrass, and the 20th Annual Mountain Song Festival, curated by the band and spanning two days.

Recorded by Julian Dreyer at Echo Mountain Recording, Asheville, NC, and produced by Mike Ashworth and the band, Next Act marks a return to their bluegrass roots, reclaiming the music that shaped them, creating an album that honors tradition while writing new chapters within it. The album features guest appearances by Steve Martin, Edie Brickell, and Celia Woodsmith of Della Mae.
Previously released tracks from the album include: "Roll of the Dice," "Rumble Strips," "Heart's the Only Compass (feat. Steve Martin)," the title track, "Next Act," and "Circling the Drain."

Formed in North Carolina and shaped by both the Appalachian Mountains and the Piedmont, Steep Canyon Rangers-Graham Sharp (banjo, vocals), Mike Guggino (mandolin/mandola, vocals), Aaron Burdett (guitar, vocals), Nicky Sanders (fiddle, vocals), Mike Ashworth (drums, dobro, guitar, vocals), and Barrett Smith (bass, guitar, vocals)-have spent more than 25 years carving out a distinctive place in American roots music. From the beginning, the band has balanced a respect for bluegrass tradition with contemporary songwriting shaped by literary influence, regional storytelling, and live experience.

Over their career, the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame inductees have released 14 studio albums, a live album, three collaborative albums with Steve Martin, earned three GRAMMY nominations, and a Best Bluegrass Album win for Nobody Knows You in 2013. Their first live album of original material, 2024's Live at Greenfield Lake, earned the band another No.1 debut on Billboard's Bluegrass Albums Chart, tying Old Crow Medicine Show for the most Bluegrass chart-topping albums in the chart's history.

Steep Canyon Rangers Tour Dates
May 23 - Kerrville Folk Festival - Kerrville, TX
May 28-29 - Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. - Mills River, NC
June 12 - Grand Ole Opry - Nashville, TN
June 13 - The Blue Ridge Music Center - Galax, VA
June 14 - Mountain Stage - Charleston, WV
June 26 - Liberty Theater - Astoria, OR
June 27 - Big Ponderoo Music + Art Festival - Sisters, OR
July 3 - The Burl - Lexington, KY
July 4 - Nelson Ledges Quarry Park Grassfire Festival - Garrettsville, OH
July 10 - Levitt Pavilion Dayton - Dayton, OH
July 11 - 5PTS Outdoors at The Dog Bowl - Roanoke, VA
July 23 - Robert Z. Hawkins Amphitheater - Reno, NV
July 25 - RockyGrass - Lyons, CO
July 27 - Ogden Amphitheater - Ogden, UT
August 21 - Stone Mountain Arts Center - Brownfield, ME
August 22 - The Opera House - Boothbay Harbor, ME
August 23 - Sharlin Liu Performance Center - Rockport, MA
August 27 - Windjammer - Isle of Palms, SC
August 28 - Victory North Savannah - Savannah, GA
August 29 - Bowstring Pizza and Brewyard - Raleigh, NC
September 5 - The Outpost New River Gorge - Fayetteville, WV
September 11-12 - Mountain Song Festival - Brevard, NC
September 19 - DAR Constitution Hall - Washington, DC*
September 20 - Hershey Theatre - Hershey, PA*
October 11 - Des Moines Civic Center - Des Moines, IA*
October 16 - Siesta Valley Bowl - Orinda, CA
October 18 - Strawberry Music Festival - Grass Valley, CA
November 7 - Ocean Casino Resort - Atlantic City, NJ*
November 13 - Miller High Life Theatre - Milwaukee, WI*
November 14 - Orpheum Theatre - Minneapolis, MN*
December 4 - North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center - North Charleston, SC*
December 5 - Township Auditorium - Columbia, SC*
January 17 - String Break Cruise: Music Festival at Sea 2027 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
February 19 - Main Street Crossing - Tomball, TX

* w/ Steve Martin & Martin Short

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Hear Steep Canyon Rangers' New Song 'Rumble Strips'

Steep Canyon Rangers Share 'Heart's The Only Compass (feat. Steve Martin)'

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