The John Cowan Band

From the early 1970s to 1989, New Grass Revival—John Cowan, Sam Bush, Courtney Johnson, Ebo Walker, Curtis Burch, and later Bela Fleck and Pat Flynn—re-invented traditional bluegrass for the post-hippie era, covering Bob Marley and Jerry Lee Lewis and forsaking the old-fashioned show-biz professionalism of Bill Monroe and Flatt and Scruggs for overalls and flannel shirts and improvised set lists. Since New Grass Broke up, Cowan has recorded a handful of albums for the Sugar Hill label. (Matthew Everett)