Mountain Grass Unit Announce Appalachian Smoke

Appalachian Smoke Artwork Credit: Charles N. Welsh V.

Mountain Grass Unit today announce Appalachian Smoke, their debut album arriving August 28 via Dualtone Records. Produced by six-time Grammy winner Vance Powell (Chris Stapleton, Jack White, Phish), the 13-track collection captures the Birmingham-born quartet at a defining moment: touring internationally, fresh off an IBMA Momentum Band of the Year win, and headed toward their Grand Ole Opry debut. Appalachian Smoke finds Mountain Grass Unit honoring bluegrass tradition while pushing confidently beyond it, weaving together psychedelic rock, jamgrass and expansive American roots music into their most ambitious and fully realized studio statement to date.

Appalachian Smoke is available now for pre-order on limited-edition vinyl variants, including Earthquake Vinyl via the MGU Online Store, signed Mountain Mist Vinyl and 180g black vinyl via Dualtone, and Smoke Vinyl via Seasick Records in Birmingham, AL. Accompanying today's announcement is the three-song self-titled EP, available now and offering the first glimpse into the musical and emotional core of the forthcoming album.

LISTEN TO MOUNTAIN GRASS UNIT EP
WATCH THE "WINDOW FOR A FRIEND" VIDEO
PRE-SAVE / PRE-ORDER APPALACHIAN SMOKE LP

At its center is the joyful, groove-driven anthem "Window for a Friend," a song that doubles as a reflection of the band's own story. The accompanying video draws from years of archival footage, tracing Mountain Grass Unit's journey from childhood jam sessions and school-day rehearsals to festival stages and sold-out headline shows. A moving career retrospective, the video captures the friendships, trust and collective ambition that have defined the band from the beginning, revealing a group whose story is rooted as deeply in lifelong bonds as it is in music itself.

The title track, "Appalachian Smoke," points toward the album's broader sonic horizons, while "Forest Mississippi" serves as an affectionate nod to the deep-rooted traditions and Southern identity that remain central to the band's foundation. Together, the three songs reveal the spirit that runs through Appalachian Smoke: reverence for where the music comes from and a restless desire to see where it can go next.

If the Mountain Grass Unit EP serves as a peek into the album's world, the full-length record leaves the door wide open. Recorded nearly entirely live and without a metronome, Appalachian Smoke captures the spontaneity, interplay and adventurous spirit that define Mountain Grass Unit onstage while also pulling from ideas that have been taking shape within the band for years. Some songs began as fragments carried around long before the sessions; Luke Black had the guitar riff for “Eagle’s Nest” in his back pocket for years, while lines Sam Wilson wrote long ago eventually found their home in “Wait for Me.” Under the guidance of Powell, the band embraced a process built on instinct and feel, creating a record that preserves their hard-earned chemistry while dramatically broadening the scope of their sound.

The result is a record full of unexpected turns. Psychedelic rock textures drift through songs like "Earthquake," while the adventurous "Eagle's Nest" incorporates electric sitar, gong and effects-laden instrumentation without ever losing sight of the band's bluegrass foundation. As guitarist Luke Black explains, "We were imagining our fan base while writing these songs. They're music fans who like to do things outdoors, like getting together around a campfire and singing along."

The album also marks a creative breakthrough for a group entering its first chapter as a full-time band. No longer writing and recording around college schedules, Mountain Grass Unit approached Appalachian Smoke with a new level of focus and intention, broadening both their songwriting and sonic ambitions. Joined by guests including Greensky Bluegrass' Anders Beck, pedal steel player Karl Smakula and Grammy-winning fiddler Michael Cleveland, the band created what fiddler Josiah Nelson calls "a celebration of all the music we love." Bassist Sam Wilson adds, "We wanted the album to feel like our live show."

Mountain Grass Unit’s forward motion has been years in the making. Drury Anderson, Black, and Wilson began making music together long before the band became a full-time touring force, developing the kind of shared language that now anchors Appalachian Smoke. “Drury and I met when we were three or four years old,” Black remembers. By sixth grade, they were jamming with Wilson, and years later, fiddle virtuoso Josiah Nelson entered the fold with a natural sense of where he belonged. “There was such a strong musical connection between the three of them,” he remembers. “They worked together so naturally, because they’d grown up together, and there was an obvious place for me to fit into their sound.”

For years, Mountain Grass Unit built its audience in the narrow margins of long weekends and summer breaks. Following college graduations for Black, Anderson, and Wilson in 2025, Mountain Grass Unit committed to the road, selling out more than 30 shows that year and earning the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Momentum Band of the Year Award. After closing out the year with an appearance at Greensky Bluegrass' Strings & Sol in Mexico, the band expanded its international reach with a multi-date Australian tour in March 2026.

That momentum has been echoed by some of the most influential voices in bluegrass and roots music. In his IBMA keynote speech, Billy Strings pointed to Mountain Grass Unit as part of a new wave of young bands helping drive the music forward, praising them as “killer pickers.” He later gave guitarist Luke Black his own nod online, writing that it was “Kinda rude of him to be this good honestly… luckily for me we’re on the same team.” The recognition continued this May at DelFest, where Del McCoury and Ronnie McCoury joined Mountain Grass Unit onstage before Del announced that the band will make its Grand Ole Opry debut on August 26.

Following today’s EP and album announcement, Mountain Grass Unit will spend the coming months bringing Appalachian Smoke into the wild, with upcoming announced dates spanning major festival stages, headline rooms, and special support appearances across the United States and beyond. Highlights include Railbird Music Festival, Bonnaroo, High Sierra Music Festival, Under the Big Sky Festival, Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival, Earl Scruggs Music Festival, Hulaween, and Panic en la Playa, plus select dates supporting Dierks Bentley.

Appalachian Smoke arrives August 28, 2026.

Mountain Grass Unit
(L-R): Sam Wilson, Josiah Nelson, Drury Anderson, Luke Black. Photo: Shervin Lainez

Mountain Grass Unit - On Tour 2026

6/4 - Vail, CO - GoPro Mountain Games *
6/6 - Lexington, KY - Railbird Music Festival *
6/11 - Hamilton, OH - RiversEdge Amphitheater (FREE SHOW)
6/13 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo *
6/17 - Kansas City, MO - recordBar
6/19 - Bellevue, CO - The Mishawaka Amphitheatre
6/20 - Boulder, CO - Boulder Theater
6/21 - Casper, WY - The Rialto
6/24 - Livingston, MT - Pine Creek Lodge
6/25 - Bonner, MT - KettleHouse Amphitheater ^
6/26 - Sisters, OR - Big Ponderoo *
6/27 - Woodinville, WA - Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery %
6/29 - Bellingham, WA - Wild Buffalo House of Music
6/30 - Trout Lake, WA - Trout Lake Hall (SOLD OUT)
7/1 - Enterprise, OR - OK Theater
7/3-4 - Grass Valley, CA - High Sierra Music Festival *
7/18 - Whitefish, MT - Under the Big Sky Festival *
7/18 - Whitefish, MT - The Remington Bar #
7/25 - Hiram, ME - Ossipee Valley Music Festival *
8/8 - Alta, WY - Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival *
8/12 - Harrisburg, PA - XL Live
8/13-14 - Manchester, VT - Green Mountain Bluegrass & Roots *
8/26 - Nashville, TN - Grand Ole Opry
9/6 - Mill Spring, NC - Earl Scruggs Music Festival *
9/18-20 - Flagstaff, AZ - Pickin' In The Pines Bluegrass Festival *
9/20 - Annapolis, MD - Annapolis Baygrass Festival *
10/10 - Eureka Springs, AR - Hillberry Music Festival *
10/22-25 - Live Oak, FL - Hulaween *
1/19-23 - Puerto Aventuras, MX - Panic en la Playa *

* Festival Appearance
^ Supporting Dierks Bentley & Cole Goodwin
% Supporting Dierks Bentley & Kaitlin Butts