Steve Martin Joins Steep Canyon Rangers on New Single; Tour Dates Revealed

GRAMMY Award-winning bluegrass and Americana ensemble Steep Canyon Rangers have partnered with Steve Martin on “Heart’s the Only Compass (feat. Steve Martin),” the third track unveiled from their forthcoming 15th studio album, Next Act, out May 22 on Yep Roc Records. The album is available for pre-order here, and the single is available below.

In support of Next Act, the band will embark on a 27-date tour run spanning February through June, bringing their bluegrass sound to theaters, festivals, and performing arts centers across the country. The run includes a series of dates with Steve Martin & Martin Short, a symphonic evening with the Nashville Symphony, and festival appearances including MerleFest, Kerrville Folk Festival, and RockyGrass. A complete list of dates is below and tickets are now available here. 

Of “Heart’s the Only Compass” songwriter Graham Sharp offers: “It’s natural to look back at history, especially our personal history, and feel like things turned out in a way that makes perfect sense. After hearing some stories of my grandparents' younger days and seeing people around me learning about their family history through DNA tests, it struck me just how much of a crapshoot it is. When every daily choice seems monumental, it feels good to think that the generations before us didn’t know what they were doing anymore than we do. And the best you can do is follow your heart.”

Recorded by Julian Dreyer at Echo Mountain Recording, Asheville, NC, and produced by Mike Ashworth and Steep Canyon Rangers, Next Act sees the band return to their bluegrass roots. The album features guest appearances by the aforementioned Steve Martin and Edie Brickell on “Halfway to Reno,” and Celia Woodsmith of Della Mae on “Hard Times.”

Formed in North Carolina and shaped equally by the Appalachian Mountains and the Piedmont, Steep Canyon Rangers features Graham Sharp (banjo, vocals), Mike Guggino (mandolin/mandola, vocals), Aaron Burdett (guitar, vocals), Nicky Sanders (fiddle, vocals), Mike Ashworth (drums, dobro, guitar, vocals), and Barrett Smith (bass, guitar, vocals).

Over their 25-year career, the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame inductees have released 14 studio albums, a live album, three collaborative albums with Steve Martin, and earned three-time Grammy nominations, including a win for Best Bluegrass Album for Nobody Knows You in 2013, while 2012’s Rare Bird Alert and 2020’s North Carolina Songbook garnered a nomination in the same category.

Their first live album of original material, 2024’s Live at Greenfield Lake set a Billboard milestone, earning the Rangers their latest No.1 on the Bluegrass Albums Chart, tying Old Crow Medicine Show for the most Bluegrass chart-topping albums in history.

Steep Canyon Rangers Tour Dates

February 20 – Weinberg Center for the Arts – Frederick, MD

February 21 – Avalon Theatre – Easton, MD

February 27 – Miller High Life Theatre – Milwaukee, WI*

February 28 – Orpheum Theatre – Minneapolis, MN*

March 4 – Montalvo Arts Center – Saratoga, CA

March 5 - The Freight - Berkeley, CA

March 6 – Lobero Theatre – Santa Barbara, CA

March 7 – Clark Center for the Performing Arts – Arroyo Grande, CA

March 8 – Belly Up – Solana Beach, CA

March 13 – DAR Constitution Hall – Washington, DC*

March 14 – Hershey Theatre – Hershey, PA*

March 20 - suwanee spring reunion 2026 – Live Oak, FL**

March 21 – Red Clay Music Foundry – Duluth, GA

March 26 – Parker Arts, Culture & Events – Parker, CO

March 27 – Phil Long Music Hall – Colorado Springs, CO

April 11 – Johnny Mercer Theatre – Savannah, GA*

April 12 – BJCC Concert Hall – Birmingham, AL*

April 24 – Merlefest – Wilkesboro, NC

April 25-26 – KeyBank State Theatre – Cleveland, OH*

May 6 - Schermerhorn Symphony Center - Nashville, TN^

May 7 – Hendricks Live! – Plainfield, IN

May 8 – Stoughton Opera House – Stoughton, WI

May 21 – Ham Amphitheater - Auburn University – Auburn, AL

May 23 – Kerrville Folk Festival – Kerrville, TX

May 29 – Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. – Mills River, NC

June 26 – Big Ponderoo Music + Art Festival – Sisters, OR

July 26-27 – RockyGrass – Lyons, CO

* w/ Steve Martin & Martin Short

^ w/ Nashville Symphony

** w/ Larkin Poe, Jon Stickley Trio, Peter Rowan

Photo Credit: Jay Strausser