Steep Canyon Rangers#Discography
{{Short description|American band}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Steep Canyon Rangers
| image = steep-canyon-rangers-10-22-66-fxd.jpg
| alt = The band members posed in front of a shipping container
| caption = Steep Canyon Rangers in 2022
| background = group_or_band
| origin = Brevard, North Carolina, U.S.
| genre = Bluegrass
| years_active = 2000–present
| label = Yep Roc
| associated_acts = {{ubl|Edie Brickell|Steve Martin}}
| website = {{URL|steepcanyon.com}}
| current_members = {{ubl|Graham Sharp|Mike Guggino|Nicky Sanders|Mike Ashworth|Barrett Smith|Aaron Burdett}}
| past_members = {{ubl|Lizzie Hamilton|Charles Humphrey|Woody Platt}}
}}
Steep Canyon Rangers is an American bluegrass band based in Asheville and Brevard, North Carolina.{{cite news |title=Steep Canyon Rangers benefit concert |url=http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090201/ENCORE01/302019946/-1/XML09 |work=The Telegraph |date=February 1, 2009 |access-date=2009-05-10 }}{{cite news |first=John |last=Staton |title=The Music Column: Steep Canyon Rangers play venues from bars to churches |url=http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20090310/ARTICLES/903101992?Title=The-Music-Column-Steep-Canyon-Rangers-play-venues-from-bars-to-churches |work=The Star-News |date=March 10, 2009 |access-date=2009-05-10 }}
Originally formed in 2000, the band has become widely known since 2009 for collaborating with actor/banjoist Steve Martin. SCR performed as a quintet for nearly a decade before intermittent touring began as a sextet with Steve Martin; the band still performs in both configurations.
Steep Canyon Rangers have recorded nine solo albums plus two collaborative albums with Steve Martin. In 2012, their collaboration with Steve Martin, Rare Bird Alert (2012), was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.{{Cite web |title=Steve Martin {{!}} Artist {{!}} GRAMMY.com |url=https://www.grammy.com/artists/steve-martin/4314 |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=grammy.com}}
In 2013, the Steep Canyon Rangers' solo album Nobody Knows You won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.{{cite news|title=Grammys: Steep Canyon Rangers Win Best Bluegrass Album... |url=http://wunc.org/post/grammys-steep-canyon-rangers-win-best-bluegrass-album-avett-brothers-chocolate-drops-miss |date=February 9, 2013 |access-date=2015-08-05}}
In May 2013, Steve Martin and SCR began performing with Edie Brickell after she and Martin co-wrote and recorded Love Has Come for You.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/steve-martin-and-the-steep-canyon-rangers-featuring-edie-brickell-in-concert-about-the-program/1983/ |title=Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers featuring Edie Brickell in Concert ~ About the Program {{!}} Great Performances |date=February 18, 2014 |last=Knight |first=Christina |language=en-US |access-date=2025-03-02 |via=www.pbs.org}}
Personnel
=Current members=
- Graham Sharp – banjo, electric banjo, harmonica, harmony & lead vocals (2000–present)
- Mike Guggino – mandolin, mandola, harmony vocals (2000–present)
- Nicky Sanders – fiddle, harmony vocals (2004–present)
- Mike Ashworth – drums, box kit, cajón, dobro, harmony vocals (2013–present)
- Barrett Smith – upright bass,{{cite news|last1=Rifkin|first1=Carol|title=Steep Canyon Rangers announce new bass player|url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2018/01/12/steep-canyon-rangers-announce-new-bass-player/1021863001/|access-date=May 7, 2018|publisher=Citizen Times|date=January 12, 2018}} harmony vocals (2018–present)
- Aaron Burdett – lead vocals, guitar (2022–present)
=Former members=
- Woody Platt – lead vocals, guitar (2000–2022)
- Lizzie Hamilton – fiddle, vocals (2000–2003)
- Charles Humphrey III – upright bass (2000–2017)
History
=Early years=
Steep Canyon Rangers formed in 2000 while students at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. The core group consisted of Woody Platt (guitar), Graham Sharp (banjo) and Charles R. Humphrey III (upright bass). Early on, Platt's childhood friend, Mike Guggino (mandolin), was asked to join. With original fiddler Lizzie Hamilton completing the quintet, Steep Canyon Rangers garnered fans across the U.S. performing festivals from North Carolina to Colorado. Two albums of original music were recorded with the early lineup: Old Dreams and New Dreams and Mr. Taylor's New Home. In 2001, the Rangers took first prize in Lyons, CO at the Rockygrass Festival band competition earning the Rangers a main stage performance the following year. Hamilton left the group in 2003 but heavy touring continued with a rotation of fiddlers leading up to the eponymous CD Steep Canyon Rangers (released 2004) on Rebel Records. The album contained a dozen more original songs and featured guest fiddlers including Josh Goforth.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}
=Fiddle commitment=
In 2004, Nicky Sanders approached the band for the position of full-time fiddle player and subsequently joined in July. The Rangers recorded their fourth album, One Dime at a Time in 2005 with producer Mike Bub (Del McCoury Band). The next year the band won Emerging Artist of the Year at the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards ceremony. Following the release of their fifth album in 2007, the band received two more IBMA nominations for Best Album (Lovin' Pretty Women) and Gospel Performance of the Year ("Be Still Moses").{{cite news |first=Jamie |last=Resch |title=Longtime heroes stay fresh by touring and remaining true to traditional bluegrass |url=http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/mar/12/steep74708/ |work=The Post and Courier |date=March 12, 2009 |access-date=2009-05-10 }}
In 2010, Sanders's fiddle tune "Mourning Dove" was nominated for IBMA Instrumental Song of the Year.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}
=With Steve Martin=
{{stack|File:Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers in Seattle.JPG}}
In May 2009, Steep Canyon Rangers were asked by banjoist/comedian Steve Martin to perform with him (as a sextet) in a benefit concert for the Los Angeles Public Library:{{cite web|author=Bluegrass Today |url=http://bluegrasstoday.com/steep-canyon-rangers-back-steve-martin/ |title=Steep Canyon Rangers back Steve Martin|date=May 4, 2009 |access-date=2015-08-05}} featuring banjo and comedy. This first collaborative performance took place at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, CA and was met with much acclaim. Martin subsequently asked the Rangers to accompany him on a "world bluegrass tour" taking the group to venues such as Carnegie Hall (New York), Royal Festival Hall (London) and the Wang Center in Boston. While in England, the group also performed on the critically acclaimed music TV show, Later with Jools Holland.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoYW8r_LAFk |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211220/SoYW8r_LAFk |archive-date=2021-12-20 |url-status=live|title=Steve Martin @ Jools Live : Videos : Steve Martin & Steep Canyon Rangers perform Saga of the Old West and Jubilation Day|publisher=Later With Jools Holland|access-date=2015-08-06}}{{cbignore}} On June 27, 2009, Steve Martin and SCR were featured on a broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion. Soon after, Martin played with the band at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco.Madison, Tjames. Livedaily.com, August 4, 2009. [http://www.livedaily.com/news/19785.html "Steve Martin and his banjo map fall tour."] Retrieved on October 4, 2009, and Benaroya Hall in Seattle.http://www.seattlesymphony.org/benaroya/browse/eventdetail.aspx?id=2211 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609171757/http://www.seattlesymphony.org/benaroya/browse/eventdetail.aspx?id=2211 |date=June 9, 2011 }} Martin appeared with the Steep Canyon Rangers at the 2010 Bonnaroo Music Festival and then on Austin City Limits on November 6, 2010. On July 4, 2011, Martin and SCR performed A Capitol Fourth celebration on the West Lawn of the US Capitol Building.{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/video/a-capitol-fourth-watch-steve-martin-sizzle/|title=Watch Steve Martin Sizzle : Videos |date=July 4, 2011|publisher=PBS.org|access-date=2015-08-06}}
In the summer of 2010, Steve Martin and SCR recorded their first collaborative album, Rare Bird Alert at Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville, NC. The album contained tracks primarily composed by Martin and featured guest vocal appearances by Paul McCartney and the Dixie Chicks. The CD was released the following March, and then on September 29, 2011, Martin and the Rangers were jointly named Entertainers of the Year at the IBMA Awards ceremony in Nashville, TN.{{cite news|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15123651|title = Steve Martin wins top trophy at Bluegrass awards|work = BBC News|date = September 29, 2011}} In May 2012, Martin and the Rangers played at the fifth annual DelFest as a headlining act.{{cite web |url=http://delfest.com/lineup/artist-info/steve-martin-and-the-steep-canyon-rangers/ |title=DelFest website |accessdate=2012-06-06 }}
In 2013, the Steep Canyon Rangers added drummer Mike Ashworth to tour with Steve Martin and Edie Brickell in support of their new album, Love Has Come for You. Later the Steep Canyon Rangers announced that Ashworth would be a permanent addition to the band.{{Cite web |title=Mike Ashworth |url=https://soniquedrums.com/pages/mike-ashworth |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=Sonique Drums |language=en}}
In September 2017 Steep Canyon Rangers released The Long-Awaited Album with Steve Martin.{{cite news | url = http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-steve-martin-steep-canyon-rangers-long-awaited-album-20170919-story.html | title = Steve Martin having serious fun with his banjo on 'The Long-Awaited Album' | date = September 19, 2017 | access-date = October 10, 2017 | newspaper = Los Angeles Times | author = Randy Lewis }} A few months later, Out in the Open was released on January 26, 2018, but without Steve Martin in the band.{{cite web |url=http://www.kentucky.com/entertainment/music-news-reviews/article196151094.html |title='Steve Martin's backup band' steps 'Out in the Open' to declare independence |first=Walter |last=Tunis |work =Lexington Herald Leader |date=January 23, 2018 }}
=Continued touring=
In 2011, Steep Canyon Rangers signed with Rounder Records with lead singer Woody Platt saying "[the Rangers] are honored to join Rounder Records and be a part of such a rich musical history."{{cite news |title=The Steep Canyon Rangers Sign to Rounder Records|url=http://www.rounder.com/2011/06/news/the-steep-canyon-rangers-sign-to-rounder-records |work=Rounder Records |date=June 13, 2011 |access-date=2011-06-14 }} The band has recorded three records on the label as well as two collaborations with Steve Martin. Drummer and percussionist, Michael Ashworth, was added to the tour in 2013 and subsequently joined the Rangers as full-time member in the fall; Ashworth's performances feature a signature "box kit"{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYhOLqK8MRo |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211220/NYhOLqK8MRo |archive-date=2021-12-20 |url-status=live|title=Video: Michael Ashworth & the Box Kit cajon drum kit|publisher=Moravian Percussion |access-date=2015-08-05 }}{{cbignore}} consisting of multiple cajóns mixed with standard and modified drum hardware; it is sometimes referred to as a "cajón drum kit".{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}
In 2013, the Steep Canyon Rangers' solo album Nobody Knows You won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.
The previous year, their 2012 collaboration with Steve Martin, Rare Bird Alert, was nominated for the same award.
As of 2025, the Steep Canyon Rangers continue to tour the U.S. as well as appear with Steve Martin and Martin Short in their comedy act "in a Very Stupid Conversation".{{Cite web |title=Tour Dates with Steve Martin & Martin Short |url=https://www.steepcanyon.com/news-scr/tour-dates-with-steve-martin-martin-short |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=Steep Canyon Rangers |language=en-US}}
=Personnel changes=
In 2013, Mike Ashworth joined the Steep Canyon Rangers as their drummer.
On December 1, 2017, Charles Humphrey III (bass) announced that he was leaving the band to "pursue other musical and non-musical passions aside from Steep Canyon Rangers".{{Cite news|url=http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2017/12/01/charles-humphrey-iii-splits-steep-canyon-rangers/914147001/|title=Charles Humphrey III splits with Steep Canyon Rangers|work=Citizen Times|access-date=2018-01-04|language=en}} Humphrey now tours with Songs from the Road Band.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}
In January 2018, Barrett Smith joined Steep Canyon Rangers performing bass and vocals.
In April 2022, founding band member and frontman Woody Platt announced his departure from SCR to spend more time with family.{{cite news | url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2022/04/29/steep-canyon-rangers-bluegrass-band-woody-platt-talks-leaving-band/9570839002/ | title=Steep Canyon Rangers' Woody Platt talks about leaving the band | newspaper=The Asheville Citizen Times }} Later in 2022, guitarist and vocalist Aaron Burdett joined the band.{{cite news |last1=Lawless |first1=John |title=Aaron Burdett joins Steep Canyon Rangers |url=https://bluegrasstoday.com/aaron-burdett-joins-steep-canyon-rangers/ |access-date=2023-07-17 |publisher=Bluegrass Today |date=August 30, 2022 }} The band's new lineup and producer Darrell Scott set up a makeshift studio at a mountaintop inn in Bat Cave, North Carolina to record Morning Shift, released in 2023.{{cite web|last=Himes|first=Geoffrey|title=Darrell Scott and the Ghost of Hank Williams|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/darrell-scott/darrell-scott-ghost-of-hank-williams|website=Paste Magazine|date=September 20, 2023|access-date=December 4, 2024}}
Discography
=Albums=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+Albums by Steep Canyon Rangers |
| rowspan="2"| Title
! rowspan="2"| Album details ! colspan="4"| Peak chart ! rowspan="2" style="width:9em;"| Sales |
|---|
| style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="45"| US Grass ! width="45"| US ! width="45"| US ! width="45"| US Indie |
| scope="row"| Old Dreams and New Dreams
|* Release date: August 14, 2001
| — | — | — | — | |
| scope="row"| Mr. Taylor's New Home
|
| — | — | — | — | |
| scope="row"| The Steep Canyon Rangers
|
| — | — | — | — | |
| scope="row"| One Dime at a Time
|
| 13 | — | — | — | |
| scope="row"| Lovin' Pretty Women
|
| 5 | — | — | — | |
| scope="row"| Deep in the Shade
|
| 3 | — | — | — | |
| scope="row"| Rare Bird Alert (with Steve Martin) |
| 1 | 43 | — | — | |
| scope="row"| Nobody Knows You
|
| 2 | — | — | — | |
| scope="row"| Tell The Ones I Love
|
| 1 | — | — | — | |
| scope="row"| Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers featuring Edie Brickell LIVE
|
| 1 | — | 5 | — | |
| scope="row"| Radio
|
| 1 | — | — | — | |
| scope="row"| The Long-Awaited Album (with Steve Martin) |
| 1 | 189 | 7 | — | |
| scope="row"| Out in the Open
|
| 1 | — | — | 28 | |
| scope="row"| North Carolina Songbook{{cite web |url=https://britishcma.co.uk/steep-canyon-rangers-north-carolina-songbook-album-enclosed-out-on-november-29/ |title=Top 10 Country Album Sales Chart: February 19, 2018|work=BCMA |date=February 20, 2015}}
|
| 1 | — | — | 29 | |
| scope="row"| Be Still Moses
|
|1 | | 8 | | |
| scope="row"| Arm in Arm
|
| 2 | — | 4 | 24 | |
| scope="row"| Morning Shift
|
| — | — | — | — | |
| colspan="8" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart |
=Singles=
- "Me and Paul Revere" (Steve Martin and Steep Canyon Rangers) (2011)
- "Pretty Little One" (Steve Martin and Steep Canyon Rangers featuring Edie Brickell){{cite web |url=http://www.allaccess.com/triple-a/future-releases |title=Future Releases on Triple A (AAA) Radio Stations |publisher=All Access Music Group |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727124426/http://www.allaccess.com/triple-a/future-releases |url-status=live |archive-date=2014-07-27}} (2014)
- "Test Of Time" (Duet with Steep Canyon Rangers and Edie Brickell) (2015)
- "California" (Steve Martin and Steep Canyon Rangers) (2020)
= Music videos =
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable sortable" width = 75%
! width=4% | Year ! width=20%| Awarding Body ! width=35%| Category ! width=40%| Nominated work ! width=10%| Result |
| 2006
|Emerging Artist of the Year{{Cite web |title=Steep Canyon Rangers |url=https://ibma.org/award-recipients/steep-canyon-rangers/ |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=IBMA |language=en-US}} | |{{Won}} |
| 2011
|Instrumental Song of the Year |{{Nominated}} |
| 2011
|Album of the Year |{{Nominated}} |
| 2011
| |{{Won}} |
| 2012
|Best Album, Bluegrass{{Cite web |title=The Steep Canyon Rangers {{!}} Artist {{!}} GRAMMY.com |url=https://www.grammy.com/artists/steep-canyon-rangers/15926 |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=grammy.com}} |{{Nominated}} |
| 2013
|{{Won}} |
| 2021
|{{Nominated}} |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website}}
- [https://as.vanderbilt.edu/nashvillereview/archives/2418 Nashville Review Interview with Steep Canyon Rangers]
{{Authority control}}
Category:2000 establishments in North Carolina
Category:American bluegrass music groups
Category:Musical groups established in 2000