A long-tenured string band from the Blue Ridge region of Virginia, Big Country Bluegrass play a heartfelt and energetic strain of country bluegrass music with gospel and Appalachian influences. Over their three decades together, the group have produced over a dozen tightly crafted albums including 2001's My Old Virginia Home, 2015's Country Livin', and 2019's Mountains, Mamas and Memories. Big Country Bluegrass were formed in the mountain town of Independence in the late 1980s by mandolinist Tommy Sells and his wife, singer and guitarist Teresa Sells. Taking their name from an old Jimmy Martin song, "Big Country," they made their recording debut with 1994's 4th Time Around, introducing a traditional Virginia and North Carolina mountain sound with strong instrumental roots and rich vocal harmonies. Throughout the '90s and much of the 2000s, they recorded primarily for the Blacksburg-based Hay Holler label, celebrating their 20th anniversary with 2007's Twenty Years of Grass. Beginning with 2010's The Boys in Hats & Ties, they made their home on the Rebel Records label. Although their lineup slightly shifted from time to time, the bulk of the band's albums up to this point included double bassist Alan Mastin, fiddler Billy Hawks, singer/guitarist Jeff Michael, and banjo player Lynwood Lunsford joining the Sellses. A significant membership change occurred prior to their 2015 album Country Livin', which saw the arrival of bassist Tony King, fiddler Tim Laughlin, and singer/guitarist Eddie Gill. By 2017's Let Them Know I'm from Virginia, Lunsford had also departed, making way for John Treadway on banjo. This lineup remained in place for 2019's Mountains, Mamas and Memories. ~ Timothy Monger