Louisville, Ky — Two of the world’s most innovative and influential bluegrass/newgrass bands are returning home to Louisville, Ky., the birthplace of the New Grass Revival and its predecessor, The Bluegrass Alliance.

These bands created and defined Newgrass, mixing traditional Bill Monroe-styled bluegrass with a fusion of rock, blues and jazz. Led by Sam Bush, the recordings, concerts and members of the New Grass Revival and The Bluegrass Alliance have become part of the folklore of the state and major forces within the music industry.

Sam Bush, Vince Gill, Dan Crary, Curtis Burch and other former members of the New Grass Revival and The Bluegrass Alliance – two of Bluegrass music’s most influential bands – participated in the successful launch of a major film and recording project at the 2008 International Bluegrass Music Association convention in Nashville, Tenn., last month.

The project, The Bluegrass Hotel, is based on an old Victorian mansion in Louisville, Ky., that was a key component of the bluegrass scene and the residence of major music artists during the Newgrass era of the 1970s.