Haas Kowert Tice parlays high-profile influences into captivatin­g sounds

The three players of Haas Kowert Tice met at various music festivals as college students and found they liked jamming and hanging out. The friendship endured even as they moved in various directions careerwise. Bassist Paul Kowert now plays with The Punch Brothers, fiddler Brittany Haas with Crooked Still and guitarist Jordan Tice with Tony Trischka. Reconvening in Nashville, and sharing equally in the creation of new material, “everything comes off of our individual instruments more,” says Tice.

Smart bets: Town Mountain

Fans of Asheville quintet Town Mountain will be familiar with the concept of podorythmie — not because they are well-versed in French Canadian percussive techniques, but because it’s nearly impossible to listen to the band’s jaunty bluegrass without adding your own toe-tapping beat. The self-described “hard-drivin’ Carolina string band” is in the running for an […]