Dave Eggar and Bristol Lightening

August 28

In 1927, the first country music records were cut in Bristol TN/VA, by ordinary people with ordinary stories and the courage to create. Now, almost 100 years later, Bristol Lightning is born in the same town, celebrating the American stories of today. From Aaron Copland to American roots music, blues, bluegrass, and beyond, Bristol Lightning’s live shows take the audience on a high-energy adventure of bluegrass cello and mandolin, blues guitars, tap dance, and storytelling, weaving a powerful and poignant tapestry of the true creativity and resilience of the American spirit.

Bristol Lightning is the baby of cellist Dave Eggar. He’s a student of the great American composer Aaron Copeland and the legendary cellist Yo Yo Ma. Eggar has performed, recorded, and arranged for artists across genres, including Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Coldplay, Frank Ocean, John Legend, Lewis Capaldi, Tony Bennett, and Andrea Bocelli, to name a few. He is a multi-Grammy nominated composer, has scored multiple films, and regularly performs in the classical and American roots music worlds.

Drew Jones Band

August 29

Drew Jones is a music artist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter based in Knoxville, TN. He began his musical journey by discovering guitar as a kid, watching his Grandfather’s complex Country/Gospel guitar style, and sharing his family’s love for Classic Rock and Country Music. Drew’s passion led to steady practice and performing, from garage bands in high school to playing for country rock bands in Nashville, and eventually moving to NYC to pursue his artistic dreams full-time. After 10 years of performing in NYC, Drew is now back in his native state of Tennessee, performing all over the Southeast. His musical style and performances can be described as a “Guitar-slinging, high intensity, fusion of Country, Blues, Americana and Old School Rock N’ Roll”. 

hear here Songwriter’s Showcase

August 30
3:00-5:00 PM

Join us on Sunday, August 30, for a Hear Here Songwriter Stage featuring Sing-A-Long Bill Barton, Tom Kellar, and Stephan Wulff. Each artist will perform a 35-minute set filled with original songs and the stories behind them.

Come out to support local musicians and experience some of the incredible songwriting talent East Tennessee has to offer.

EVIE ANDRUS BAND

September 4

Evie Andrus has spent most of her adult life adding tasty licks to other people’s projects, adding just the right ingredient to make a piece of music sound its best. With the release of her first album under her own name, “Evie’s Great Adventure,” the fiddler/vocalist ready to deliver the main course. The new album is flat-out feel-good music delivered with the same heart and soul that’s made Evie a popular performer all across the Southeast. Maybe you caught her bands Barefoot Sanctuary or Buffalo Fiasco, or heard her backing up renowned cellist Dave Eggar, irreverent singer-songwriter Roger Alan Wade, or performing at the Big Ears Festival with improvisational great Lonnie Holley, or maybe you spotted her backing up Foreigner on a short tour. There’s also the possibility that you heard her music on the HBO series “The Outsider” or saw her appearance on “American Ninja Warrior.”

Mike McGill and the Refills

September 11

Mike has roots in honky-tonk, and rock and roll. By age 12, Mike McGill was on stage in front of big audiences. He grew up singing old-time gospel songs and old-school, classic country, and bluegrass. He was influenced by Hank Williams, Bill Monroe, and Willie Nelson to harness his musical prowess.

Jones & Co.

September 12

Jones & Co. is a Knoxville-based band comprised of Mike Jones (vocals, guitar), Chris McCreary (guitar), Marcus Bunch (bass), and Jay Locke (drums). The group formed in Summer 2026, and they deliver a healthy mix of mostly rock/folk-based originals with some heavy Beatles covers (and a few others). A splendid time is guaranteed for … at least four.

FOUR LEAF PEAT

September 18

VICKIE VAUGHN BAND

September 25

A Western Kentucky native, Vickie Vaughn stomped into Nashville with a fistful of original material and a desire to play bass and sing with the best of them. In 2015, Vaughn released her debut EP under the production of Bluegrass royalty Ronnie McCoury before heading out on the road singing background vocals with Patty Loveless. She has been sighted sharing the stage of the Bluegrass fan favorite festival, ROMP, singing in a trio with fellow Kentuckians, Ricky Skaggs and Patty Loveless. Three Grand Ole Opry appearances later, Vickie now tours with Grammy-nominated Della Mae, who frequents the stage with greats such as Billy Strings and comedians Steve Martin and Martin Short. Led by the production of Sister Sadie’s Deanie Richardson, Vickie will be releasing her debut solo record in 2025. Vickie is also proud to be the 2023 and 2024 International Bluegrass Association’s Bass Player of the Year.

Randy Steele Band

September 26

Randy Steele is more than a highly regarded singer/songwriter and he is more than a great banjo player from Tennessee. He has a viewpoint on the world that is without filters. His lines are poignant, they have meaning and feel. ‘Home is Where the Hardest Part is’ he pines in ‘Mobile Soon’, the Independent Music Association winner for Best Bluegrass Song. ‘Melissa had a baby when she was Seventeen, but the State took him away because his blood wasn’t clean’ begins the ‘Age of Ben’ which caught the attention of American Songwriter Magazine and placed Steele as a Semi-Finalist in Song of the Year Category in 2024. ‘The Extra Mile is a Gravel Road’ from Steele’s latest release, continues this with this trend and is turning heads.

Randy and the High Cold Wind have been turning heads and ears since their inception as a support band for Randy’s songwriter touring. In 2023 the band expanded rapidly into a full on bluegrass jam machine. After a few shows, they found themselves invited to multiple festivals throughout the Southeast US with acts like Greensky Bluegrass, Yonder Mountain String Band, East Nash Grass, and Larry Keel, while Randy began sitting in with bands like Mountain Grass Unit and Andy Frasco.

The band is made up of some of the Southeast’s highest talents including flat pick wizard Brad Clark on guitar. Multiple State, multiple instrumental contest Champion and well known teacher John Boulware on Mandolin and Slim Pickins Bluegrass’ own Justin Hupp on the upright bass. They are playing extensively throughout the Southeast and beyond in 2026, see ya at the show!

Red Tailed Rounders

October 2

The Red Tailed Rounders are a hard-driving and swinging country string band based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The group performs bluegrass and country standards, as well as unique and heartfelt original music. With a classic string band lineup of guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and upright bass, The Red Tailed Rounders bring new songs into an age-old tradition of American folk music.

MARBLE CITY BAND

October 3

The Marble City Band combines top talent from across the Knoxville area, forming a high energy sound unlike any other. With debut performances in 2023, the much-anticipated band from East Tennessee has high hopes to make a profound impact on the local music scene.