How a musical collaboration called the Bluebrass Project changed Asheville

20 years ago, musicians from Western North Carolina teamed up with musicians from New Orleans to blend two great musical traditions

The musicians of the Bluebrass Project. Chris Jones, at far left, a New Orleans-born chef who moved to Asheville, was inspired in the early 2000s to bring together artists from the two cities to create a unique musical sound./ photo via the Bluebrass Project page on Facebook

This newsletter sponsored by Citizens Fuel Co., a family-owned Asheville company.

Editor’s note: Guest writer Alli Marshall remembers a unique musical collaboration known as The Bluebrass Project and how it forever changed Asheville. Chris Jones, the musician inspired to make the project happen died last month.

By Alli Marshall

There’s a special, albeit brief, era of Asheville’s history recorded within the tracks of The Same Pocket Vol.1: Bluegrass Meets the Big Easy by The Bluebrass Project. The collection features Trombone Shorty, Aaron “Woody” Wood, and members of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Acoustic Syndicate, and more.

“In 2004, a group of New Orleans musicians and musicians from North Carolina came together and recorded an album that has become a touchstone for inter-genre collaboration,” wrote The Vinyl District in reference to a 2019 reunion of those players.