2025 FreshGrass Awards Finalists

Blue Ridge Gathering is a Knoxville based neo-traditional old time trio. Cody Bauer, Jessica Watson and Duck Ryan combine traditional old time music with elements of bluegrass and folk music along with an energetic and engaging stage presence. Their repertoire includes original songs and tunes as well as covers of artists such as Reeltime Travelers, Gillian Welch and Joe Troop and a wealth of old time fiddle tunes. Blue Ridge Gathering garnered 1st in the Neo-Traditional band competition in 2024 at the mecca of old time music – Appalachian Stringband Festival (Clifftop). The band also received best original song (2023) and original tune (2024) at Clifftop. Blue Ridge Gathering just finished recording a six song EP, three of which are originals. With a unique ability to fill sonic space with only three instruments and their fun and exciting stage presence, any Blue Ridge Gathering show is certain to be a memorable experience.

The Wilder Flower encompasses a fresh take on Appalachian music, blending modern influences with deep roots of old time & bluegrass. They bring an original blend of three-part harmonies, instrumental prowess, and dynamic storytelling. Since the group began in 2021, The Wilder Flower has toured across the country. They released their debut album If I Wait Anymore in September of 2024.

Bayla (17) plays clawhammer banjo and is a traditional Appalachian vocalist from Leicester, NC just outside of Asheville. She plays with her siblings in a Neo-traditional Old-Time band called “Newfound Gap.” She is a two time recipient of the IBMA Fletcher Bright Memorial Scholarship. She has won many first-place awards in clawhammer banjo at fiddlers’ conventions, including the Galax, Virginia “Old Fiddlers’ Convention.” One of her proudest musical moments was placing fourth at Clifftop in 2024 behind Adam Hurt, Brad Kolodner and Frank Evans. In addition to playing the Youth Stage at the IBMA’s and participating in the Kids on Bluegrass Program, she’s played the Cabin Stage at Merlefest, The Art of Music Festival, Woodsongs, Appalachia Sessions, The Earl Scruggs Festival, Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival, FloydFest, The Blue Ridge Opry, The Jefferson Center, The Diana Wortham Theatre, The Mountain Song and Dance Festival, FloydFest, RoosterWalk, The Laurel Theatre, among many others. Bayla is a ‘23-‘24 Fellow in From the Top’s Learning and Media Lab. She has performed alongside and opened in support of many acclaimed musicians. She cites several musicians as influences including Victor Furtado, Jake Blount, Andy Thorn, Ryan Acker, Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn. Bayla was selected to participate in The Blue Ridge Music Trails’ Fine Tuned project, a mentorship and collaboration-based project aimed at professional development for emerging artists playing traditional music in Western North Carolina. Her recordings were released last year for the Fine Tuned Project with Cary Fridley and produced by Josh Goforth. She and her siblings give volunteer performances to promote mountain music at local Western North Carolina schools and, since Hurricane Helene, have supported hurricane relief efforts throughout Western North Carolina as well as Roanoke, VA. She is endorsed by Gold Tone Music Group. Bayla plans to attend Berklee College of Music and plans to teach and perform for future generations. 

Madeline Dierauf is a folk musician from Brevard, North Carolina. A sought-after Bluegrass, Old-time, and Irish fiddler, she is a founding member of Appalachian group The Wilder Flower (with Danielle Yother and Molly Johnson) and Baltimore-based Irish traditional trio The East Coasters. Growing up in Brevard, Madeline Dierauf listened to and learned a diverse range of folk music and was immersed in the cultural traditions of Appalachia and beyond, through mentorship from Beanie O’Dell, Ellen Lee at the Mountain School of Strings, and Nicky Sanders. After picking up the fiddle in third grade, she was winning talent shows by age ten, and played her first gigs around age 14 with (generous) local musicians like Josh Carter, Elizabeth Bahnson, and Owen Grooms. In 2020, she released her debut EP, Walk On By, with producer Mike Ashworth, and in 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2024, she wrote for and fiddled on albums for Pretty Little Goat and Dave Desmelik. Most recently, she released albums of original and traditional music with The Wilder Flower and The East Coasters.

Clara Rose is a violinist and vocalist from Vancouver, Canada, the unceded territory of the Coast Salish People. With a background in Celtic, Balkan, Swedish, blues, bluegrass and jazz folk traditions, Rose effortlessly melds these disparate styles into her own passionate and groovy fiddle voice. A master improviser across many genres and disciplines, Rose’s joyous expression and skillful artistry has a transformative effect on all of her collaborations.

Rose has studied with distinguished artists from across Canada and the United States, including Sara Caswell, Jason Anick, Oliver Schroer, Daniel Lapp, Marc Destrubé and Moira Smiley. In 2018 and 2019 Rose was selected as one of 16 young string players to participate in the Acoustic Music Seminar in Savannah, GA, directed by Mike Marshall. She is currently pursuing her degree in violin performance at Berklee College of Music. Rose performs with The Acoustic Nomads, Clara Rose & Raphaella Hero, a contemplative folk fiddle duo, and leads the Clara Rose Band.

Cody Bauer discovered his passion for the fiddle thanks to the influence of his grandfather, Tom Smith. Surrounded by a musical family, Cody and many of his cousins began learning traditional instruments around the same time, often coming together to play at family gatherings and music festivals across their home state of Indiana. In 2015, Cody proudly carried his family’s musical legacy to Nashville, where he had the honor of performing with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys during Stanley’s final appearance at the Grand Ole Opry. Cody has earned first-place awards in fiddle contests throughout central Appalachia and has toured internationally, sharing traditional music in Ireland, Canada, and Belize. As part of various ensembles, he has contributed to several notable first-place finishes at major competitions, including the SPBGMA Bluegrass Band Contest, RockyGrass, the Neo-Traditional Band Contest at the Appalachian String Band Festival (Clifftop), and the Galax Fiddlers’ Convention.

Currently, Cody works as the Field Office Coordinator with Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM), a nonprofit organization that offers after-school traditional music programs for students in rural Appalachian communities. He has studied under respected musicians such as Louie Popejoy, Andy Burton, Chad Manning, and acclaimed fiddler Hunter Berry. As an educator himself, Cody has taught students both in person and online, sharing his deep knowledge and love for traditional music. He holds a B.S. in Education and an M.A. in Religion.

Caleb Israel Swan is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and instructor, specializing in both
Progressive and Traditional acoustic music. Growing up in Alaska, his musical training began as a 4-year-old violin student, eventually
leading to a Bachelor of Music Degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston. Although mandolin is his primary instrument, at Berklee, Caleb had the opportunity to advance his skills on fiddle, banjo, and guitar.
Immediately upon graduation in May 2023, Caleb was hired, alongside his band Seselia, to represent Berklee at some of the most acclaimed events in the world of American Roots Music,
performing at the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival and the IBMA World of Bluegrass. He has shared the stage with some of the biggest names of the Bluegrass scene, including Grammy Award winners Dan Tyminski, Jerry Douglas and Sam Bush. He’s also performed with Sierra Hull,
Bruce Molsky, and AJ Lee. In September 2023, Caleb toured with with the acoustic supergroup Mr. Sun, featuring Darol Anger, Joe K. Walsh, Grant Gordy and Aidan O’Donnell, in conjunction with the FreshGrass Festival commission of Mr. Sun Plays Ellington Plays Tchaikovsky.

Megan Cody, of The Cody Sisters, has spent more than half of her life in the Colorado music scene. Playing mandolin, guitar, and singing lead and harmony vocals, she has toured with her band across the United States and the UK. Growing up at bluegrass festivals like RockyGrass, she has been immersed in acoustic music from a young age.