#Cadillac Sky #newgrass #progressive bluegrass #contemporary bluegrass #folk #country
Nashville-by-way-of-Texas-based bluegrass quintet Cadillac Sky are led by singer/mandolin player/guitarist/violinist Bryan Simpson and feature Matt Menefee (banjo, upright piano, drums, glockenspiel), David Mayfield (guitar, percussion), Ross Holmes (mandolin, Mellotron), and Andy "Panda" Moritz (piano, percussion, bass). The group signed to the Skaggs Family label and released its debut album, Blind Man Walking, on January 23, 2007; it made the country charts. Gravity's Our Enemy followed on August 19, 2008, and Cadillac Sky switched to Dualtone Records for Letters in the Deep (June 8, 2010), produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/cadillac-sky-mn0000614288/biography
Cadillac Sky’s brief tenure in the newgrass world generated a lot of passion. Traditionalists disliked them intensely, while more open-minded (and typically younger) audiences ate them up. Much of the early bristling may have come from a poor audience/entertainer match, with the band being booked at bluegrass festivals where their brand of aggressive, modern string music might not be well appreciated. That popped up quickly in 2007, when on-site disagreements between Cadillac Sky and a promoter in Arkansas accelerated into them being asked to leave a festival where they had been booked for three days. But they did eventually find their niche and released 3 albums between 2007 and 2010. Just as quickly as they appeared, though, the band fell apart in 2011, shortly after primary vocalist and songwriter Bryan Simpson decided to leave the group. From: https://bluegrasstoday.com/cadillac-sky-reunion/
