Article Contributed by Yep Roc Records
Published on 2026-03-10
Fifteenth Studio Marks Return To Their Bluegrass Roots and Features Guest Appearances by Steve Martin, Edie Brickell, and Celia Woodsmith
GRAMMY Award-winning bluegrass and Americana ensemble Steep Canyon Rangers today share “Rumble Strips”, the fourth track unveiled from their 15th studio album, Next Act, out May 22 on Yep Roc Records. The album is available for pre-order here.
Written by guitarist and vocalist Aaron Burdett, “Rumble Strips” takes its inspiration from the familiar roadway warning grooves that signal when a driver has drifted off course. “My friend Nate is fond of saying, when a person has gotten off track a little bit and notices, they’ve ‘hit the rumble strips’ and maybe only need a little course correction to get back on the right path,” Burdett explains. “I took this imagery and applied it to a relationship. Some ongoing conversations between Graham [Sharp, banjoist] and I filled this one out.” Musically, the song reflects the band’s recommitment to clarity and feel, letting the arrangement serve the story rather than overwhelm it.
Recorded by Julian Dreyer at Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville, NC, and produced by Mike Ashworth and the band, Next Act marks a return to their bluegrass roots, reclaiming the music that shaped them and creating an album that honors tradition while writing new chapters within it. The album features guest appearances by Steve Martin, Edie Brickell, and Celia Woodsmith of Della Mae. Three tracks from the album have already been released, including “Heart’s the Only Compass (feat. Steve Martin),” the title track “Next Act,” and “Circling the Drain.”
In support of Next Act, the band will be on the road bringing their bluegrass sound to theaters, festivals, and performing arts centers across the country. The extensive tour includes a series of dates with Steve Martin & Martin Short, a symphonic evening with the Nashville Symphony, and festival appearances including MerleFest, Kerrville Folk Festival, and RockyGrass. A complete list of dates is below, and tickets are now available here.
Formed in North Carolina and shaped by both the Appalachian Mountains and the Piedmont, Steep Canyon Rangers—Graham Sharp (banjo, vocals), Mike Guggino (mandolin/mandola, vocals), Aaron Burdett (guitar, vocals), Nicky Sanders (fiddle, vocals), Mike Ashworth (drums, dobro, guitar, vocals), and Barrett Smith (bass, guitar, vocals)—have spent more than 25 years carving out a distinctive place in American roots music. From the beginning, the band has balanced a respect for bluegrass tradition with contemporary songwriting shaped by literary influence, regional storytelling, and live experience.
Over their career, the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame inductees have released 14 studio albums, a live album, and three collaborative albums with Steve Martin, earned three GRAMMY nominations, and won Best Bluegrass Album for Nobody Knows You in 2013. Their first live album of original material, 2024’s Live at Greenfield Lake, earned the band another No. 1 debut on Billboard’s Bluegrass Albums Chart, tying Old Crow Medicine Show for the most Bluegrass chart-topping albums in the chart’s history.
1. Rumble Strips
2. Next Act
3. Circling the Drain
4. Heart’s the Only Compass (feat. Steve Martin)
5. Halfway to Reno (feat. Edie Brickell)
6. Some Days
7. Sugar Lake
8. The Kindest Thing
9. Hard Times
10. Back of Beyond
11. Roll of the Dice
12. Stubborn Love
13. Babylon Stone
14. Hard Luck Kid
March 20 – Suwanee Spring Reunion – Live Oak, FL**
March 21 – Red Clay Music Foundry – Duluth, GA (two shows)
March 26 – Parker Arts, Culture & Events – Parker, CO
March 27 – Phil Long Music Hall – Colorado Springs, CO
April 11 – Johnny Mercer Theatre – Savannah, GA*
April 12 – BJCC Concert Hall – Birmingham, AL*
April 24 – MerleFest – Wilkesboro, NC
April 25–26 – KeyBank State Theatre – Cleveland, OH*
May 1–2 – Birdfest – Pinewood, SC
May 6 – Schermerhorn Symphony Center – Nashville, TN^
May 7 – Hendricks Live! – Plainfield, IN
May 8 – Stoughton Opera House – Stoughton, WI
May 9 – Old Town School of Folk – Chicago, IL (two shows)
May 16 – Jefferson Theatre – Charlottesville, VA
May 21 – Ham Amphitheater – Auburn University – Auburn, AL
May 23 – Kerrville Folk Festival – Kerrville, TX
May 28–29 – Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. – Mills River, NC
June 13 – Blue Ridge Music Center – Galax, VA
June 14 – Mountain Stage – Charleston, WV
June 27 – Big Ponderoo Music + Art Festival – Sisters, OR
July 26–27 – RockyGrass – Lyons, CO
* w/ Steve Martin & Martin Short
^ w/ Nashville Symphony
** w/ Larkin Poe, Jon Stickley Trio, Peter Rowan
