Frontman Sammy Shelor, a Virginia native and ace banjo picker, is the Lonesome River Band’s biggest motivator for making music that appeals to both young and old fans. His genuine dynamism and outgoing personality, not to mention his impressive fretwork and catchy licks, continue to attract new generations of fans to the bluegrass genre.

“It’s all a matter of outlook and attitude toward what you’re doing,” Shelor says. “Our whole philosophy is to involve young fans, to bring in new fans, by creating a spark that gets them saying, ‘Well, bluegrass is cool,’ because of the energy.”

The Lonesome River Band’s Jubilee performance was taped at IIIrd Tyme Out’s Poppy Mountain Bluegrass Festival in Morehead, KY. The group’s musical electricity in concert makes its message loud and clear: bluegrass music is cool, indeed.