The Jayhawks, Tift Merritt, Tanasi, and more on Mountain Stage
About this Event
GUEST ARTISTS: The Jayhawks, Tift Merritt, Tanasi, Candi Jenkins, and more TBA (click each artist name to learn more)
Tickets: $30-$35
All tickets to this show are e-tickets and will be emailed to you upon purchase. Open up the pdf and the QR code on your ticket will be scanned at the door. This event will also be offered as a livestream.
Watch the livestream!
Mountain Stage livestreams are free, however, there are some incredible folks out there who’d like to show their support through a donation-based, pay-what-you-want “ticket” for the livestream. This is a donation-based “ticket” to show some love for the program and is not a ticket to the live event.
You’ll be able to catch the show from the comfort of your home (or wherever you wish) Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026 – at 7 PM ET at mountainstage.org.
Click here to learn more about Mountain Stage and the live show experience!
- Doors to the lobby open at 5pm
- Doors to the theater open at 6:30pm
- Show begins at 7pm
The Jayhawks
The Jayhawks and their rootsy sound were definitely swimming against the tide when they emerged from a crowded Minnesota music scene in 1985. Over the course of almost 4 decades, 11 albums, countless memorable live shows and enough personal drama to fill a couple of Behind the Music episodes, this beloved band soared to heights few ever achieve while winning the hearts and minds of numerous critics, fans and peers in the process. After releasing two Indie albums in the 80s The Jayhawks signed with American Recordings in 1991 and over the next decade released 5 challenging, at times groundbreaking, albums, toured the world to widespread acclaim and even survived the departure of founding member Mark Olson in 1995. After a hiatus in the mid 2000s, the “classic” 1994 lineup reunited for another new studio album in 2011 and 2 years of solid touring, reacquainting audiences old and new with the band's timeless musical vision. 2014 saw a late 90s version of the band led by Gary Louris hitting the road to support the reissues of the 3 Jayhawks albums released from 1997-2003. This lineup released the band's 9th studio album in 2016, recorded in Portland, OR with producers Peter Buck and Tucker Martine. The band's next studio album, Back Roads And Abandoned Motels, was released in the summer of 2018, featuring Jayhawks versions of songs Gary Louris had previously written with other artists plus 2 new compositions. Recording for a new Jayhawks album was completed in Minnesota in late 2019 and in July 2020 the band released their 11th studio album, XOXO.
Tift Merritt
Tift Merritt is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and musician who wanted to be a writer until her father taught her guitar chords and Percy Sledge songs. In her 20-year career, she has released a critically acclaimed body of work and toured the world with her sonic short stories. The New Yorker calls her “the bearer of a proud tradition of distaff country soul that reaches back to artists like Dusty Springfield and Bobbie Gentry.” Emmylou Harris calls her “a diamond in a coal mine.” Merritt’s reputation as a musician’s musician is earned by the unique and varied creative projects she helms. While Merritt has worked to create her own brand of southern music, never settling for the status quo, her creativity and curiosity have similarly refused pigeonholing.
Beyond the stage, Merritt’s work spans storytelling, archival research, and artist advocacy. A Practitioner-in-Residence at Duke University, she explores creative process and cultural memory through projects like The Spark and her ongoing archival work, while continuing to champion musicians’ rights. Her latest album, Sugar—her first in nearly a decade—finds her returning with a luminous, deeply personal collection recorded live in Nashville, capturing an intimate, unguarded energy and exploring love, resilience, and the quiet sweetness of everyday life.
Additionally, Merritt is part of the revisioning of The Gables, a 18-room hotel, bar and gathering space in Raleigh, NC, set to open this July.
https://tiftmerritt.substack.com/
Tanasi is a worldgrass trio based in Asheville, North Carolina, channeling global folk traditions through the drive, textures, and close harmonies of an Appalachian string band. Featuring Billy Cardine on dobro and other slide instruments, Anya Hinkle on vocals and guitar, and Mary Lucey on vocals, upright bass, and clawhammer banjo, the group unites three widely acclaimed roots artists whose combined careers span decades of touring, recording, and cross-cultural exchange. Their music follows the invisible threads that connect cultures, landscapes, and hearts-from Nepal’s high plateaus and South African villages to the mountains of Appalachia-celebrating the shared human rhythms that surface wherever people gather to sing, dance, grieve, and love.
The members of TANASI have appeared on iconic stages, including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Ryman Auditorium, and have toured extensively throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Their individual work has been praised by outlets including No Depression, PopMatters, Americana UK, and NPR-affiliated programs, and collectively they have performed at major festivals such as Bonnaroo, MerleFest, Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, Earl Scruggs Music Festival, RockyGrass, and leading international roots festivals across Scandinavia and Europe.
In 2025, TANASI was named a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts USArtists International Grant, recognizing the trio’s dedication to meaningful cross-cultural artistic collaboration.
In 2026, TANASI will appear at major U.S. festivals, including RockyGrass, Red Wing Roots, and Strawberry Music Festivals, while releasing their self-titled debut album, TANASI.
ABOUT
Billy Cardine is widely regarded as one of the most adventurous voices in modern slide guitar, known for pushing the dobro beyond its traditional boundaries through collaborations with John Paul Jones, Edgar Meyer, Jerry Douglas, and Debashish Bhattacharya. He has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Ryman Auditorium, and his work as a producer and engineer has earned national and international accolades. “I couldn’t have picked a better example of where the Dobro is now or what the possibilities are with the instrument,” said Jerry Douglas, a testament to Cardine’s expressive range.
Mary Lucey, a founding member of The Biscuit Burners and former touring member of the all-female string band Uncle Earl, is known for her deep rhythmic sensibility, evocative vocals, and songwriting that feels unearthed rather than written. In recent years, clawhammer banjo has taken on a central role in her work, its pulse and texture shaping new songs. Her music has reached audiences around the world through features on BBC World TV’s Destination Music, PBS’s Roadtrip Nation, and NPR’s Mountain Stage, establishing her as a powerful and enduring voice in contemporary roots music.
Anya Hinkle is an award-winning songwriter whose work blends folk and bluegrass traditions with vivid storytelling shaped by extensive travel. Her critically acclaimed solo albums, including Eden and Her Borderlands and OCEANIA, produced by Irish producer Kevin Moloney (Sinead O’Connor, U2), have earned praise for their emotional clarity and transportive vocals. Her songs have won several international songwriting awards and a number one slot on folk radio charts.
Candi Jenkins
Candi Jenkins is an up-and-coming roots artist making a name for herself with classic yet modern songwriting that blends traditional country, Appalachian bluegrass, and Americana. As Candi puts it, “I couldn’t find the type of country I wanted to hear, so I started making it myself.”
Though she claims Lexington, Kentucky as home, her roots also stretch through Louisville, southern Indiana, Canada, and Southeastern Kentucky. After moving to Kentucky, Candi found a deeper connection to her Appalachian heritage, saying, “Appalachian music is in my blood in a way that is beyond surroundings. It is a part of me.” She explores that connection in her song “God Don’t Care.”
Candi has quickly built momentum on the road, opening for acts like Clay Street Unit and Andy Frasco, with upcoming shows alongside Benjamin Tod. She appeared at South by Southwest in 2025 and Luck Reunion in 2026.
Currently, Candi is recording her debut album with Andrija Tokic at The Bomb Shelter. New music from the record is set to be released this summer.
With a growing social media presence, prolific songwriting, and magnetic live performances, Candi Jenkins is steadily building a loyal fanbase and emerging as a fresh voice in modern roots music.
Where is it happening?
USD 0.00 to USD 39.14
