“It was like one of those late at night things,” says AJ Lee, mandolinist, singer, and namesake of burgeoning band AJ Lee & Blue Summit of the group’s origin. “We were sitting on a trailer at Grass Valley”—at the annual Father’s Day Bluegrass Festival held in the Sierra Nevada foothills—“Someone said, ‘All of us right here, we're a band now.’ We kind of didn't take it seriously, but we were like, okay, we'll be a band!” Of course, Lee and guitarist Sullivan Tuttle had been in a band together from ages 8 and 10, respectively, and Guitarist Scott Gales and Lee first shared the stage when he was 11 and she was 4.

Thankfully, the longtime friendships and Grass Valley manifestation came to be and a new band was formed on the foundation of deep musical connections. AJ Lee & Blue Summit’s first gigs were local, small venues where they’d play for hours on end, honing their set list and learning shared musical vocabularies. Now as Lee, fiddler Jan Purat, and guitarists Gates and Tuttle crisscross the country performing hundreds of shows a year to larger and larger audiences, the intention they had way back then shines through: to make music together because it’s fun. Full stop.

Today, AJ Lee & Blue Summit released their third LP—and first album on a label, Signature Sounds—City of Glass; the rich culmination of not just the members’ musical skills, but their clear mindset as well. This is not the bluegrass of ambitious musicians intent on industry success. This is music made firstly for the joy of making it and primarily made for each other. It’s why City of Glass feels so mature and fully realized. Rest assured, Lee & Blue Summit have stayed true to their path, and with that, their path is leading them to higher and higher achievements. In addition to the release of City of Glass, AJ Lee & Blue Summit made their Opry debut earlier this week and have just been nominated for IBMA New Artist of the Year, and AJ Lee was nominated for IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year.

Fans can stream or purchase City of Glass today at this link and be sure to check out AJ Lee & Blue Summit’s tour dates below or at bluesummitmusic.com/tour-dates.

More About City of Glass: City of Glass, is a California affair, through and through. Lee & Blue Summit brought in Lech Wierzynski, of the California Honeydrops, to produce; they tapped Bay Area steel guitarist Mikiya Matsuda for a couple of tracks; plus they had Californian banjo player, and instructor, Luke Abbott lend five-string to a number. The group is proud to be Californian, proud to represent the neo-traditionalist bluegrass and folk from the state and the mighty communities surrounding them. Their music shines with this “think global, act local” sort of approach.

Wierzynski prioritized making the band sound exactly like themselves, producing the vocals to be and sound live whenever possible, moving the band along when a take checked all the boxes and still bringing in genre and aesthetic inspirations that feel brand new. City of Glass, as a result, is an album that’s just as much country soul and gritty, bluesy Americana as it is bluegrass, all framed through a California folk lens while clearly primed for a much wider audience.

City of Glass Tracklisting:

Hillside

He Called Me Baby

Seaside

Can’t Find You at All

City of Glass

Toys

I Still Think of Her

Sick on a Plane

Bakersfield Clay

Bedside Window

Solicitor Man

All I Know

Catch AJ Lee & Blue Summit On Tour:

July 20-21 - Darrington, WA - Darrington Bluegrass Festival

Aug. 8 - Edmonton, AB - Edmonton Folk Festival

Aug. 13 - Ridgefield, CT - CHIRP

Aug. 16 - Philadelphia, PA - Philadelphia Folk Festival

Aug.17 - Manchester, VT - Green Mountain Bluegrass and Roots

Aug. 24 - Novato, CA - Hopmonk Tavern

Aug. 25 - Washoe Valley, NV - Bowers Bluegrass Festival

Aug. 30 - Chattanooga, TN - Nightfall Concert Series

Aug. 31 - Mill Spring, NC - Earl Scruggs Music Festival

Sept. 1 -  Charleston, SC - Charleston Pour House

Sept. 12 - Vienna, VA - Jammin Java

Sept. 13 - Richmond, VA - Richmond Music Hall

Sept. 14 - Bristol, TN - Bristol Rhythm and Roots Festival

Sept. 15 - Floyd, VA - Floyd Country Store

Sept. 18 - Nashville, TN - Americana Music Festival

Sept. 20 - Winfield, KS - Walnut Valley Festival

Oct. 8 - New York, NY - Union Pool

Oct. 9 - Cambridge, MA - Club Passim

Oct. 10 - South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground

Oct. 11 - Amherst, MA - The Drake

Oct. 12 - Portland, ME - Portland House of Music and Events

Nov. 12 - Billings, MT - Pub Station

Nov. 13 - Bozeman, MT - The ELM

Nov. 14 - Missoula, MT - The Wilma

Nov. 15 - Boise, ID - Treefort Music Hall

Nov. 16 - South Salt Lake, UT - The Commonwealth Room

Nov. 21 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile

Nov. 22 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom

Nov. 23 - Bend, OR - Midtown Ballroom