For his first new music since the release of 2023’s critically acclaimed solo album, Leaving Is Believing, singer/songwriter/mandolinist Ashby Frank commemorated the passing of long-time friend and colleague, legendary banjoist Terry Baucom, by remaking the latter’s signature instrumental, “Knee Deep in Bluegrass,” and taking it to the top of the bluegrass charts.

Ashby Frank’s “Knee Deep In Bluegrass,” his first single since the release of last year’s Leaving Is Believing, has topped this month’s Bluegrass Today radio chart. The song — which has been No. 1 on the weekly chart twice — is both a tribute to a beloved member of the bluegrass community and a compelling example of the musical power that created and sustained it.

For more than half a century now, the word “bluegrass” has been followed by “community” almost as often as it has been followed by “music” — no surprise for a music shared between devotees spanning generations, regions and cultures.

For more than half his life and all of this century, singer/songwriter/mandolinist Ashby Frank’s been too busy to find the time for making a follow-up to his 1999 debut album.

Ashby Frank’s “Midnight Highway” — his first single for Mountain Home Music Company — was No. 1 on this month’s Bluegrass Today chart.