Metro Art Presents: Roots and Rails

In collaboration with The Bluegrass Situation, Metro Art debuts Roots and Rails, a first-of-its-kind bluegrass experience in the historic Ticket Concourse at Los Angeles Union Station. The free, open-to-all concert will take place Saturday, May 2, 2026 from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM, with doors opening at 6:30 PM. The evening will feature a lineup of live roots and bluegrass performances led by Watkins Family Hour, with supporting sets from Sunny War and Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band, bringing together a beautiful night of music and community.

Event Schedule

• 6:30 PM – Doors Open
• 7:00 PM – Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band
• 7:45 PM – Sunny War
• 8:45 PM – Watkins Family Hour
  

Note: RSVP recommended but not required. Seating on a first-come, first-served basis. The first 40 visitors to present their TAP cards to the Metro Art info table will receive free Metro Art swag.

Watkins Family Hour is a musical collective led by siblings Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins, born from their long-running residency at Largo. Since its debut in 2002, the project has evolved from an intimate live series into a celebrated recording outfit, with three albums: Watkins Family Hour (2015), Brother Sister (2020), and Vol. II (2022). Recorded at East West Studios, Vol. II features an eclectic lineup of collaborators, including Fiona Apple, Jackson Browne, and Madison Cunningham, highlighting the project’s collaborative spirit and rich musical range. Alongside their work with Nickel Creek and I’m With Her, Watkins Family Hour remains a creative home: an evolving space to experiment, connect, and share in the joy of making music.

Sunny War (Sydney Ward) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist whose music blends folk, punk, blues, and roots. After moving into her late father’s 100-year-old house in Chattanooga, she spent the winter “seeing things and hearing things,” an experience that inspired songs like “Ghosts” on Armageddon in a Summer Dress. Born in Nashville and raised between there and Rochester, Michigan, she picked up the guitar at 13 and eventually relocated to California, adopting the performing name Sunny War. She records demos herself—guitar, bass, drum loops, keyboards—experimenting with textures and crossing musical boundaries. Touring extensively after her 2022 breakthrough Anarchist Gospel, Sunny continues to showcase her evolving style and voice.

Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band plays a unique mix of bluegrass, Dawg music, jazz, and modern originals. Widely recognized as one of the most exciting young bands in acoustic music, Brothers Miles and Teo Quale, bassist Andrew Osborn, and 2023 National Flat Pick Guitar Champion Ian Ly are all standout musicians of the California bluegrass scene. The band has earned the IBMA's Momentum Band of the Year award (2023), debuted at the Grand Ole Opry (2024), and performed for the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame's induction of their hero, David Grisman. They've graced the stages of major festivals including Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Strawberry, Delfest, and IBMA's World of Bluegrass, and have toured internationally in Japan, Korea, Finland, and France. The band has released five albums, most recently I Still Remember June (2024) after signing on with Engelhardt Music Group, and have performed on TEDTalk twice.

enhances the customer experience with innovative, award-winning visual and performing arts programming that encourages ridership and connects people, sites, and neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles County. A diverse range of site-specific artworks is integrated into the growing Metro system, improving the visual quality of transit environments and creating a sense of place. From photography installations to onboard posters, art tours, and live performances, our multi-faceted arts programs add vibrancy and engage communities throughout Los Angeles. Learn about artworks in the Metro system at metro.net/art.

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is the world’s largest community for American roots music, culture, and lifestyle. Co-founded by lifelong music fan Ed Helms (The Office; The Hangover) and executive director Amy Reitnouer Jacobs in 2012, what began as a blog for like-minded Angelenos pining for bluegrass in Southern California has grown over more than a decade to become an international standard-bearer for every branch and offshoot of the roots music family tree. In 2023, BGS created Good Country, an sister brand and outlet focusing on all strains of contemporary and classic country music.

BGS proudly represents a unique gathering place: supporting and uplifting the rich, diverse, and varied history of these musics – and the artists and fans who keep them alive – while striding forward with a vision to transform these traditions into a 21st century lifestyle open to all. BGS and Good Country are Roots Culture Redefined. www.thebluegrasssituation.com

Since its opening in 1939, has long been considered one of LA’s architectural gems and a vital portal to the promise of the California Dream. The station was designed with an innovative blend of Spanish Colonial, Mission Revival and Art Deco architecture now commonly referred to as Mission Moderne. The bustling 52-acre transportation hub sits in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles offering essential connections to destinations throughout Southern California. An iconic landmark, the Station serves as a vibrant symbol of Downtown connecting the historic fabric of the past to the present through arts, culture, transit and community. Conceived on a grand scale, Los Angeles Union Station is the largest railroad passenger terminal in the Western United States and is often regarded as “the last of the great train stations.”

For more information, visit unionstationla.com or follow @unionstationla on social media.

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