Rapidgrass is an American bluegrass band founded in Golden, Colorado in 2012. Although they are widely considered a bluegrass band, their genre of music can best be described as "rapidgrass" due to its furious pace and its wide range of influences including gypsy jazz, bluegrass, swing and classical music. The lineup includes Mark Morris (guitar, vocals), Jon Wirtz (piano, organ), Charles Mertens (upright bass, tenor banjo, vocals), Alex Johnstone (mandolin, fiddle, vocals), Andy Reiner (violin),.
The band released their first CD, Rapidgrass Quintet in 2013 and was voted as one of the top 5 albums by the Mountain Arts Culture Colorado. In the summer of 2015, the band were winners of the RockyGrass Band Competition, earning them a spot on the main stage of the 2016 festival. Previous winners of the Rockygrass Contest include Mark O'Connor, Tim O'Brien, Steep Canyon Rangers and The Railsplitters. Rapidgrass embarked on a world tour in 2016, most notably headlining the La Roche Bluegrass Festival in France.
Soon thereafter they released their second studio album, Crooked Road'. In June 2017, the band released its third studio album Happy Trails at the 8th annual Rapidgrass Music Festival in Idaho Springs, CO. In 2018, Rapidgrass was recognized as the "Best Bluegrass Band in Denver" by 303 Magazine. In 2020, Rapidgrass announced the release of their 5th album, 'Take Him River' In 2025 Rapidgrass released their 6th studio album, ‘Valhalla’ at their 16th annual Bluegrass festival.
Discography
Albums Title Album details Peak chart positions US Grass US US Indie Rapidgrass Quintet Release date: 2013 Label: Self-Released — — — Crooked Road Release date: 2015 Label: Self-Released — — — Happy Trails Release date: 2017 Label: Self-Released — — — Take Him River Release date: 2020 Label: Self-Released — — —
Music videos Year Video Director 2015 "Crooked Road" Sean Morris 2017 "I-70" Gabriel Rovick 2017 "Happy Trails" Gabriel Rovick
References
External links Official website