Bluegrass Gospel

Bluegrass gospel applies the full apparatus of bluegrass — virtuoso string band accompaniment and high, close harmony singing — to Christian sacred song. Where country gospel often relies on piano and a single voice, bluegrass gospel is a group art: lead, tenor and baritone parts interlock over mandolin, banjo, fiddle, guitar and bass, whether on standards such as "I'll Fly Away" and "Amazing Grace" or on original songs of salvation, judgment and the home beyond. The *Stanley Brothers* made the sacred repertory central to bluegrass from its first years, and gospel sets remain a fixed pillar of the bluegrass festival and church circuit.