Steve "Big Daddy" McMurry is well-known in Western North Carolina as part of the bluegrass group Acoustic Syndicate. Some may remember his side project of a few years ago, the Big Daddy Bluegrass Band. Now Steve has formed a new version—"the next generation"—of the Big Daddy Bluegrass Band, most of which are Asheville-area players. This new version of the band will perform Saturday, February 12, at the Pisgah Brewing Company in Black Mountain.

It's been more than five years since any version of the Big Daddy Bluegrass Band has taken the stage, so Steve says he's excited about performing with this new lineup.

"This is a youthful, exciting, high-energy version of the band," Steve says. "We've had a ball practicing together so we're ready to finally get out and bring this music to an audience. The caliber of these young pickers is very exciting. It gets my blood pumping, and I think it will have the same effect on the audience."

As for the music, Steve says listeners won't hear "your standard Flatt & Scruggs bluegrass show." About a third of the songs will be originals mostly written by Steve. Other songs will be more obscure selections. "We don't want to play the same songs you can hear anywhere," Steve says.

In addition to Steve, the other band members include some names that Asheville-area music fans are sure to recognize: Billy Cardine on dobro, Jason Flourney on banjo, Robert Greer on harmonizing vocals and guitar, and Jay Sanders on bass. Cardine and Sanders, of course, are Steve's mates in Acoustic Syndicate. Flournoy is formerly of Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, while Greer is known as the front man for Asheville-based bluegrass group Town Mountain.

Steve says it's good for the group to play at home (referring to a date in Charlotte and the Pisgah Brewing Co. show) before hitting the road. "We hope to see a lot of familiar faces," he says.

While all the members are part of other musical projects, Steve says he hopes the group can still get in a lot of shows. "We're looking at festival dates now for this summer," he says. "Obviously, this band will play when the other projects have some slack time, but we do hope to play quite a bit over the next few months. And we hope to have some more Asheville-area dates scheduled soon. We love playing together, and we plan to record an album together." The last Big Daddy Bluegrass Band CD was a self-titled release back in 2002.

"If you come see us we promise a high-energy, rumpus evening with a few tender moments in between," Steve says with a chuckle. "It'll be a lot of fun."

General admission prices for the Big Daddy Bluegrass Band at the Pisgah Brewing Company are $10 in advance and $13 at the door. The show begins at 8:30 p.m.