I found that this Birmingham-based bluegrass band who had been recommended to me were playing just a few miles away in a 50's American Diner. I was not even aware of this diner prior to the gig. It came from Massachusetts and it was a good venue holding an audience of around fifty people. The band was family based, a father who played banjo and dobro, a daughter who sang and played mandolin and a daughter who played guitar and did back up vocals. There was also a bassist. For their first set they did mainly covers starting with an obscure Elvis song and including Bill Monroe, Patsy Cline and Gillian Welch along the way as well as some traditional bluegrass tunes.
They were all good musicians, the father played an assured banjo or dobro with some sweet flourishes, the song-writing guitar playing daughter played a lively and driving guitar and the singer had a good ol' country voice (despite being from Brum) that had echoes of Patsy Cline.
The second set was mainly stuff from their recently recorded album and features some excellent original songs, bluegrass-based but original and sometimes quirky. Towards the end they covered another Bill Monroe song and finished with another obscure Elvis track "When it Rains it Really Pours". Definitely worth another visit sometime and I think I'll get the new album when it comes out later this year.
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