Grant Farm: Tribute to the Cosmic Working Man

This Boulder, Colorado-based quartet describes themselves as a "traveling Gypsy family" and reviewers call them "North American roots music." But there's more to Grant Farm than meets the ear: most of the acts with whom they've shared stage space are absolutely Bluegrass (Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Tony Rice, et al), and the band describes their sound as "Cosmic Americana."

Where to start? Probably in 2009 with their founding by National Flat-Picking Guitar Champion Tyler Grant. In 2012 came their self-titled debut, and they've been busy ever since, along with a hail of plaudits from critics and reviewers around the U.S. Colorado public radio noted that the group consisted of “some of the ablest musicians not only in the state of Colorado, but in the nation."

Their 2014 follow up, "Plowin' Time," made some noise in critical circles. It reached #2 on JamBand Radio Charts and charted on Americana Radio. That same year, the band also produced the EP "Meeting on the Mountain" in collaboration with the group Fruition.

Their newest album (2016) with the enticing title "Kiss the Ground" is their third with all-original music and their first-ever concept album. Grant describes the piece of work as "exploring real and mythological connections to the human struggle and pays homage to the 'Working Class Hero,' an archetype famously explored by John Lennon."

Other Grant-Farmers, for brevity's sake, go by their nicknames: in alphabetical order that's “Ace” (Adrian Engfer), bass and vocals; "The Champ (leader Grant, not surprisingly); “Magic” (Sean Macaulay), drums; and “Money” (Kevin McHugh), keyboards and vocals.

Together they produce music that one reviewer has called "zany, creative, and highly musical." And don't forget their highly praised "Meeting on the Mountain LIVE," a webcast hosted by Grant and featuring members of Greensky Bluegrass and String Cheese Incident.

The webcast's title is a fortuitous one. In August, the boys of Grant Farm will meet you on the mountain. Beartrap, that is.