Progressive bluegrass, also known as newgrass (a term attributed to New Grass Revival member Ebo Walker), is one of two major subgenres of bluegrass music. Progressive bluegrass came to widespread attention in the late 1960s and 1970s, as some groups began using electric instruments and importing songs from other genres (particularly rock & roll), and important groups from that period include the New Grass Revival, J. D. Crowe and the New South, the Dillards, Boone Creek, Country Gazette, and the Seldom Scene. However, progressive bluegrass can be traced back to one of the earliest bluegrass bands. A brief listen to the banjo and bass duets Earl Scruggs played even in the earliest days of the Foggy Mountain Boys give a hint of wild chord progressions to come. The four key distinguishing elements (not always all present) of progressive bluegrass are instrumentation (frequently including electric instruments, drums, piano, and more), songs imported (or styles imitated) from other genres, non-traditional chord progressions, and lengthy "jam band"-style improvisation. New Grass Revival is a great bluegras band. ... Bluegrass music is considered a form of American roots music with its own roots in the English, Irish and Scottish traditional music of immigrants from the British Isles (particularly the Scots-Irish immigrants of Appalachia), as well as the music of rural African-Americans, jazz, and blues. ... James Dee Crowe (August 27, 1937 in Lexington, Kentucky) is an American banjo player best known as J. D. Crowe. ... The New South is a bluegrass band formed around 1973 by banjo player J.D. Crowe. ... The Dillards were an American bluegrass band consisting of Doug Dillard (banjo) and Rodney Dillard (bass guitar), with Dean Webb (mandolin) and Mitch Jayne (bass guitar). ... Since its inception in 1971, the Seldom Scene has thrived on playing bluegrass a little differently than everyone else. ... Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (born January 6, 1924 in Shelby, North Carolina) created a banjo style (now called Scruggs style) that is one of the defining characteristics of bluegrass. ... Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, and the Foggy Mountain Boys were an influential bluegrass band performing and recording the 1950s and 1960s. ...

Currently performing progressive bluegrass bands and musicians include the Czech band Druhá Tráva, the Yonder Mountain String Band, bassist Missy Raines, and Alison Krauss and her band Union Station. Others who have been known to occasionally play progressive bluegrass include Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, and Nickel Creek. Druhá Tráva (Second Grass in Czech) is a bluegrass band from the Czech Republic, formed in 1991 by Robert KÅ™esÅ¥an. ... Yonder Mountain String Band The Yonder Mountain String Band (YMSB) is a progressive bluegrass group from Nederland, Colorado, outside Boulder. ... Alison Krauss on the cover of her album Forget About It Alison Krauss (born on July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass singer and fiddle-player. ... Béla Fleck (born July 10, 1958 in New York City, New York) is an American virtuoso banjo player. ... Béla Fleck and the Flecktones is a primarily instrumental group that draws equally on bluegrass, fusion and jazz band, sometimes dubbed blue-bop. ... Nickel Creek is an American acoustic quartet with roots in bluegrass. ...

See also

• Progressive country
• Progressive music