Bluegrass elder statesman and National Heritage Fellow Doyle Lawson takes pride in a career at the center of the bluegrass world for more than 40 years. His band has always been jokingly referred to as a “farm team” for bluegrass. This ensemble is no exception, consisting of prolific pickers with a clear vocal sound inspired by Lawson’s love of the classic southern gospel quartet. Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver appeared previously at SMF 2009 and 2011.

The highly-revered bluegrass band Blue Highway, performing in their SMF debut, has earned a collective 24 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Awards and two Grammy nominations. Tim Stafford recently received honors as 2015 Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA) Guitar Player of the Year and 2014 IBMA Songwriter of the Year. Dobro player Rob Ickes is a technical master, and is the most awarded instrumentalist in IBMA history with 15 Dobro Player of the Year Awards.