Bluegrass Cometh

 Iron Horse. Ring a bell? Well, if not, this might go over your head. Ever heard of a little band called …

 Metallica?

 Yes, the one of the most well-known metal groups in the world. They had a videogame before the Beatles. Well, Iron Horse is one of numerous bands that have covered this group in the hope to “make it big.” The difference between poor ol’ MetallicO RoXiNation and Iron Horse? Iron Horse has created one of the most popular albums – entirely major hits of Metallica’s – and did it with banjos, mandolins, and the twangiest voices above the age of 20 to ever “Enter Sandman.”

 ”So what?” You may ask. “One album of a band I don’t even like? This doesn’t mean a rising of bluegrass.” Au contraire. For you see, Iron Horse has created not one, not two, but eight all-bluegrass cover albums. Oh, and guess what? All of them aren’t heavy metal. In fact, two of their most popular albums are Pickin’ On Modest Mouse and The Bluegrass Tribute to The Shins.

 Now, I don’t expect one band to wreak havoc on the modern music scene. But how about another? Cherryholmes has been twangin’ since the 90’s, and have kept a fairly large fanbase happy and yearning for more and more banjo-smashing fun. Oh, and they’re a family. Doesn’t get much better than that.

 Unless you bring some AC/DC into the mix, that is. Hayseed Dixie is another cover band that forced themselves into the home of modern music with an amazing cover album over AC/DC’s greatest hits. Now they’ve covered everyone they can, from Led Zeppelin to Green Day, and written their own fantastic songs.

 You may think bluegrass was dead – if it ever was alive anywhere but Arkansas. But I predict within decades, our kids will be thinking of all the lame artists of our time – they will consider Akon, Rihanna, and Little Wayne totally old. But now they can consider the same for Hayseed Dixie. And that will be a sweet day.