First Listen: Steep Canyon Rangers' Upcoming Album RADIO

Grammy award-winning Steep Canyon Rangers' highly anticipated upcoming album, RADIO, is now streaming in full exclusively at Paste Magazine. The album will be released August 28 on Rounder Records and is now available for pre-order via iTunes.

Produced by Jerry Douglas (John Oates, Alison Krauss, Béla Fleck) and already receiving critical acclaim, The Wall Street Journal calls the album's title track "...a wide-eyed tribute to the magic of discovering music over the airwaves." Paste also recently premiered the music video for the song, which can be viewed below!

The acclaimed bluegrass band is currently in the midst of a nationwide U.S. tour including dates with esteemed comedian and banjo player, Steve Martin. Of their recent performance with Martin, San Francisco Weekly asserts, "'Radio,' the title track from the Ranger's new CD, had depth and energy, along with Platt's ear-pleasing tenor rolling out as smooth and flavorful as one of the vineyard's smoky mellow reds. 'Blow Me Away' allowed Sanders to stretch out like the song's 'freight train rolling,' especially at the tune's midpoint. Guggino on the mandolin roamed through the instruments' dynamic range and - tethered by a rich bass, anchored by groove-like percussion, roughed up with a driving banjo line - the whole added up to more than the sum of its parts." See below for full tour details.

Additionally, the International Bluegrass Music Association has nominated Steep Canyon Rangers for Recorded Event Of The Year for their performance of "Test of Time" with Edie Brickell, produced by Carl Jackson. This marks the band's eighth IBMA nomination-two of which they won, including Entertainers of the Year in 2011 for their work with Steve Martin. Lead singer Woody Platt has also received a nomination for IBMA's Mentor Award, which is given to a bluegrass professional who has made a significant impact on the lives and careers of newcomers to the bluegrass industry.

The Steep Canyon Rangers are Woody Platt (guitar), Graham Sharp (banjo), Charles R. Humphrey III (bass), Mike Guggino (mandolin), Nicky Sanders (fiddle) and Mike Ashworth (box kit). RADIO is the band's ninth studio album and was recorded with Douglas at Asheville, NC's Echo Mountain Recording Studio. The album comprises twelve all-original bluegrass/Americana tracks, the bulk of which were written by Sharp with Humphrey, Platt and Guggino composing the rest in varying degrees. Included are a few co-writes with fellow musicians from the folk world such as Phil Barker of the Carolina bluegrass band Town Mountain and singer/songwriter Shannon Whitworth.

RADIO follows Steep Canyon Rangers' 2013 release, Tell The Ones I Love, which Bluegrass Today praised as "...a great mixture of today's bluegrass styles, excellent harmonies, and a few surprises...an excellent album...The Steep Canyon Rangers have delivered another winner, and their fans are sure to be pleased." Ed Helms' The Bluegrass Situation asserted, "It's an exquisite recording, a wonderful marriage of their talent and work ethic, and Larry Campbell's remarkable intuition." Previously, their 2012 release, Nobody Knows You, was presented the Grammy Award for "Best Bluegrass Album."

The Steep Canyon Rangers are deeply committed to their community and various charitable organizations. Their annual Mountain Song Festival, which benefits the Boys and Girls Club of Transylvania County, will celebrate its 10th Anniversary this year, kicking off with an inaugural Steep Canyon 50 K & Relay Ultra Run on September 10th. Along with Steep Canyon Rangers, the lineup includes headliners Ricky Skaggs, the Del Mcoury Band, and The Milk Carton Kids. Additionally, the band has entered a partnership with Oskar Blues Brewery and their CAN'd Aid Foundation as well as SevenBar Aviation and their affiliated hospital foundations.

RADIO TRACK LIST

1. Radio
2. Diamonds In The Dust
3. Simple Is Me
4. Blow Me Away
5. Blue Velvet Rain
6. Looking Glass
7. Down That Road Again
8. Break
9. Wasted
10. Long Summer
11. When The Well Runs Dry
12. Monumental Fool

STEEP CANYON RANGERS CONFIRMED TOUR DATES

August 26 /// Nashville, TN /// City Winery

August 27 /// Louisville, KY /// Headliners Music Hall

August 28 /// Bristol, TN /// Paramount Center for the Arts

August 29 /// Galax, VA /// The Blue Ridge Music Center

September 11-13 /// Brevard, NC /// Mountain Song Festival

September 17 /// Ottawa, Ontario /// CityFolk

September 20 /// Flagstaff, AZ /// Pickin' in the Pines

September 24 /// Morehead City, NC /// The Morehead Center

September 25 /// Manteo, NC /// Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival

September 26 /// Charleston, SC /// The North Charleston Performance Arts Center*

September 27 /// Doswell, VA /// State Fair of Virginia

October 2 /// Raleigh, NC /// Wide Open Bluegrass

October 6 /// Dallas, TX /// Frontiers of Flight Museum

October 12 /// New York, NY /// The Bowery Ballroom

October 15 /// Florence, SC /// Uptown Ballroom at the Florence Civic Center

October 16-17 /// Live Oak, FL /// Magnolia Music Festival

October 19 /// Cullowhee, NC /// Bardo Performing Arts Center

October 23-24 /// Washington, DC /// Kennedy Center Concert Hall†

October 28 /// Boone, NC /// Legends (Appalachian State)

October 29 /// Winston-Salem, NC /// Ziggy's

November 7 /// Kingston, RI /// University of Rhode Island

November 12 /// Rockland, ME /// The Strand Theatre

December 4-5 /// Charlotte, NC /// The Neighborhood Theatre

December 12 /// Chapel Hill, NC /// Memorial Hall - UNC

*appearing with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra

†appearing with Steve Martin