Higher Ground Bluegrass

Higher Ground Bluegrass reformed in early 2023, bringing in Ben Monroe from Austin, TX on guitar and vocals. They completed the recording of their 25th Anniversary album, "Blue & Gray" at The Kitchen Sink Studio in Santa Fe, NM in the April. Ian Fleming graciously stepped in on guitar providing outstanding rhythm and lead work on each of the original songs cut for the album. Band alumna Diane Parshall also made a guest appearance with harmony vocals on one of the new original songs on the album. "Blue & Gray," HGB's ninth independent album, was released in June of 2023. On the continued good news front, band member Pat Mahoney recently completed a 1-year check up at the transplant hospital in Milwaukee with a thumbs-up from the heart transplant team to return to performing. 2023 brought a new line-up, new songs, a new album and a renewed enthusiasm for Bluegrass in their 25th year.

Higher Ground reformed in early 2011, welcoming Laura Leach Devlin on the bass, harmony and lead vocals. The band updated their name to "Higher Ground Bluegrass", also introduced "HGB" as a moniker to capture the essence of the changes in personnel and music. After two years of playing in the local area, the band recorded their 4th album "Bluegrass Classics" to re-introduce the band to the local community and to bluegrass festival organizers. The album is a collection of bluegrass standards, reflective of the roots of HGB members. HGB recorded their 5th album "HGB V" in 2016, which is a mix of covers and original tunes penned by the group. Their 6th album "CLANN" (Duke's solo instrumental project) was released in May 2017. On April 15th, 2018, the band released it's 7th independent album, HBG 20, to celebrate 20 years as musical ensemble. Their 8th album "Auburn Sky" (Duke's 2nd solo instrumental project) was released in December 2019. During the time of this band configuration they opened for Peter Rowan, Tim O'Brien, Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen, Jim Lauderdale, and the band served as the Host Band for the Southwest Pickers Annual Bluegrass and Traditional Music Festival from 2017-2021. The band took a break from performing in 2022 while band member Pat Mahoney underwent an unplanned yet successful heart transplant and recovery period. At the same time, long-time band member Fred Bolton experienced a serious health event that impacted his ability to play and sing. It was a hard loss for their long-term band mate and dear friend. They continue to wish him well in the recovery process.

Higher Ground welcomed Pat Mahoney on fiddle to the group in the spring of 2010. Pat, originally from Carmel, CA, not only brought exceptional fiddle skills to the band, he also brought the harmonies that put the "high" in Higher Ground. Though a short-lived arrangement, the band continued to perform in the local area retooling their musical repertoire to add the fiddle back into the mix. This composition of the band would be the shortest with Diane and Mark leaving the band in late 2010, closing out chapter 4 of Higher Ground.

Higher Ground continued to perform as a quintet in New Mexico and Colorado from 2003 - 2010, predominantly playing tunes from their first two independent albums. The band performed at the Durango Meltdown, at the Black Rose Acoustic Society in Colorado Springs, opened for Tim O'brien in Los Alamos, NM, performed at the Albuquerque Folk Festival multiple times and became a regular at O'Neills pub in Albuquerque in the ensuring years. In 2008, the band independently recorded and self-produced their third album "Miles and Miles" which was nominated for several New Mexico Music Industry Awards. Original band members Doug Porter (Guitar) and Jeff Forbes (Fiddle) contributed their talents to several of the songs on the album, marking the decade point of Higher Ground with 13 original songs by current members.

Higher Ground reformed in late 1999, adding Dave Devlin (Mandolin and Resonator Guitar), Fred Bolton (Guitar, vocals), and Diane Lujan (Vocals). Their musical focus shifted to predominantly original music with some traditional and contemporary tunes. The band spent the next two years refining their music and set lists and recorded their first album, "Black and White - Faded and Torn" in 2001. The album consisted of 14 original songs written by members of the band, and also included 2 cover songs. In 2003, their second album, "People, Places, Memories" was released which contained 13 songs, all original, penned by the band. The band performed primarily in the New Mexico and Colorado music scene, with Jeff Forbes (fiddle) leaving the band in the spring of 2003 for scenic Idaho. Higher Ground continued on without a fiddler for the next seven years.

Higher Ground is an independent bluegrass band founded in 1998 by Duke Weddington (banjo) and Jeff Forbes (fiddle), with Doug Porter (Guitar), Mark Smith (Bass) and Ron Lujan (Mandolin) rounding out the band membership. From diverse backgrounds, the music of the 'first' members included traditional, original and progressive styles of bluegrass, that set the foundational direction of the band. This original composition of the band would remain together for just over one year. Ron passed away unexpectedly in the fall of 1999. Duke wrote the song "Higher Ground" for the bands' future album "Black and White - Faded and Torn" in memory of and as a tribute to Ron. Doug left the group in late 1999, which led to chapter two of the band as Jeff, Mark and Duke had a strong desire to continue the Higher Ground experiment.