Chris Henry & The Hardcore Grass are an international touring five-piece
bluegrass band based in Nashville, TN. His family performed bluegrass and toured for years and his roots are right here in Habersham County Ga. Founded in 2012, the group has risen quickly to be one of the most popular bluegrass groups in Nashville.The band mixture of traditional bluegrass blends his appreciation for the classic sound with his own creativity to stretch out into wide open spaces that have audiences riveted to hear and see what happens next.
David Grisman – “Sounds like Frank Wakefield from 100 years in the future!”
Barbara Mandrell – “Best I ever heard”
Peter Rowan – “A bright young star in the bluegrass world.”
His song “Walkin’ West to Memphis” was recorded by the Gibson Brothers and went on to be a top five hit and was nominated for IBMA and SPGBMA Song of the Year.
In 1994, he met Bill Monroe backstage at the Grand Old Opry. Henry played “Rawhide” on Monroe’s mandolin after which the legend put his hat on the youngster’s head and danced around the room. Afterward. Monroe told Henry “If you ever need anything, boy, you come and let me know.”
Henry’s talents to meet the ear of Peter Rowan. Since that time the two have collaborated, performed and recorded resulting in some of Chris’s finest professional moments. Four tracks on Rowan’s latest album.
They have since become a favorite among the attendees at the Florida Folk Festival, Will McLean Memorial Festival, Merlfest, and the Gamble Rogers Memorial Festival.Chris and his band have done two month long tours of Australia in New South Wales and Victoria. They headlined many of the country’s biggest bluegrass festivals and were well received, being featured on an ABC nationally syndicated radio program.
In 2014 the band was the California Bluegrass Association’s Emerging Artist of the Year and the band enjoyed playing at the great Grass Valley festival in Nevada City, California.The band was selected to be official IBMA showcase artists in 2015 and was widely discussed as one of the favorite and most exciting and drawing energetic parallels to the Johnson Mountain Boys from one prominent record label executive.
