Before they were ever members of one of modern bluegrass’ most thrilling new acts, mandolinist Drury Anderson, guitarist Luke Black and bassist Sam Wilson caught what they call the “bluegrass bug.”
“You just get this feeling when you're listening to bluegrass,” Anderson said. “It's a combination of all that, the melodies, the chords, the connection of the harmonies together is like this really powerful thing. I feel like people don't know they like it until they hear it.”
It bit them early on growing up near Birmingham, and today, that affliction has morphed into a full-blown career for the musicians. They, as well as Colorado-bred fiddle player Josiah Nelson, perform as Mountain Grass Unit – an up-and-coming quartet making waves in the bluegrass world. They’ll be back in Birmingham on Friday to showcase all they’ve learned during their breakout year, display what’s still ahead for the group, and celebrate it all with the place that first started them on their path.
As kids, it didn’t take much for the roots style to hook Anderson, Black and Wilson, whether they were taking lessons at the former Homewood music store, Fretted Instruments, or joining local jam sessions at places like the Ghost Train Brewing taproom. They’ve been performing together since their days attending Mountain Brook Junior High School.
With their fluid sound, the band joins modern groups reshaping bluegrass for today’s musical landscape. Black said they’re committed to its traditions, but they don’t shy away from pushing its boundaries either.
“We're definitely jamgrass … we tap into a little bit country, a little bit Allman Brothers-y jam band side,” Black said. “I'd say we'd fall more towards that, with hints of Grateful Dead in there. But it's really hard to put a direct label on it, to be honest with you, because I feel like it's always expanding. It's always changing and turning into new things.”
That amorphous, high-energy, sound propelled them into the spotlight last year and made them one of the most buzzed about acts in bluegrass at the moment. In 2025 alone, they logged numerous hours on the road, sold out headlining shows left and right and made waves on international stages.
In fact, on a recent festival tour Down Under, Nelson said they saw that same “bluegrass bug” work its magic.
“Something funny I heard somebody in the audience say after our show in Australia, they're like ‘this music made me homesick for a place I didn't grow up in,’” the fiddle player said. “I think that's pretty accurate.”
On their rise, Mountain Grass Unit has played alongside genre favorites like Greensky Bluegrass and Billy Strings. They also took home the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Momentum Band of the Year award. Wilson said they’re incredibly fortunate for their recent success, adding that through it all, they’ve remained faithful to what made them a band in the first place.
“Just have as much fun and just goof around and have a good time while we're doing it,” the bassist said. “That seems to be working for us. We're still having a lot of fun.”
While the band has spent much of their time performing live, they recently bottled that same energy in the studio putting together their still-to-be-announced, full-length album and the eventual follow-up to their acclaimed 2024 EP Runnin’ From Trouble. Black said new music has been a long time coming.
“We're finally glad to have some music where we're out of college,” the guitarist said. “We're doing this professionally now.”
Wilson assured the project will be Mountain Grass Unit through and through.
“A lot of it is a very good reflection of what it's like to come to a live show of ours,” he said.
The band will be on stage Friday, April 24 at the Avondale Brewing Company in Birmingham, performing their largest hometown show to date. Wilson said this stop has been on their minds for some time.
“We've got some tricks up our sleeve,” he said. “We're gonna try to show out for the hometown people … We're super stoked to be back and see all our family and friends and all those who supported us from the beginning.”
Birmingham is where the “bluegrass bug” first bit Mountain Grass Unit. Thanks to them a few more people may be infected, too.