AJ Lee and Blue Summit and East Nash Grass shared billing and the stage for the Ryman Auditorium’s 2025 Bluegrass Nights, sponsored by Springhill Farms. The bands will be touring together in the fall.
Enjoying their Ryman debut, AJ Lee and Blue Summit opened with a set that showcased the range of the band, mixing in songs from their latest album City of Glass with selections across genres and eras. Lee left little doubt why she was nominated for IBMA Female Vocalist the morning after the show, performing songs that ranged in mood and style, going from “Seaside Town” off their album to “The Weenie Dog Song,” as well as a killer cover of “Fishin’ in the Dark,”
Newest band member and bass player Sean Newman sang lead on “Wildwood Flower Blues,” joined by Corey Walker of East Nash Grass on banjo.
One outstanding feature of Blue Summit is the presence of two stellar guitarists, Sully Tuttle and Scott Gates, both strong vocalists as well. Tuttle channeled gypsy jazz on Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s “Who Walks in When I Walk Out?” and Gates delivered “Bakersfield Clay” with a dose of yodeling. Jan Purat rounded out the band on fiddle.
A high point of the set was the all-out jam on “Glendale Train,” which opened with strains of “Orange Blossom Special.” Tuttle then introduced their special guest, his sister Molly Tuttle, who joined the band for the Delmore Brothers’ “Weary Lonesome Blues.” He recalled the early days of performing as the Tuttle Family with AJ Lee.
East Nash Grass opened their set with “All God’s Children,” the title cut from their upcoming album due for release August 22. The set included several songs from the new album, including their newest single “Lonesome Song,” penned by Chris Henry and “Git Along Little Yearling,” a mournful song of loss on the trail sung by mandolinist Harry Clark. Lead vocalist and guitarist James Kee joked about the “relatable lyrics” of the song about losing wagons and dealing with quicksand. Clark also performed “Papa’s on the House Top” from their previous album.
The band members kept up the patter fans have come to expect from ENG’s six year residency at Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge. The set also highlighted their extensive catalog of songs. They played “Otto Wood” and “Hop High,” bringing Jeff Picker back to play bass as multi-instrumentalist Jeff Partin, whom they called “the band’s dad,” moved to the resophonic guitar.
Award-winning fiddler Maddie Denton was highlighted on “Followin’ You,” one of the singles released in advance of the album, as well as her powerful rendition of Hazel Dickens’ “Just a Few Old Memories.”
At one point Walker traded his banjo for Earl Scruggs’ sweet-sounding ‘57 guitar, playing a Flatt and Scruggs song “Let the Church Roll On.” Throughout the night, the tight harmonies and picking brought the audience to their feet. They played their arrangement of “Jump Through the Window” before inviting AJ Lee and Blue Summit to join them on stage for a satisfying encore—first playing “Driving Nails in My Coffin” then finishing with Flatt and Scruggs, “Salty Dog Blues” with twin fiddles and mandolin and triple guitars. Little wonder that East Nash Grass was nominated for IBMA’s Entertainer of the Year and Instrumental Group of the Year the following day.
