Name: John Cowan with Allen Shadd and Luke Bulla
Start: 2025-12-13T19:00:00-05:00
Location: Songbirds Foundation

John Cowan with Allen Shadd and Luke Bulla

Doors at 6:00 PM
Show at 7:00 PM
Seated Show
John Cowan, hailed as the Voice of Newgrass, has been singing his heart out for more than forty years and his soaring vocals have only improved with time. A true innovator, Cowan applies his powerful pipes to genres from country, bluegrass, and gospel to soul, jazz, and rock – often within the space of a single concert. With his distinctive, rock-tinged tenor vocal and heart-thumping electric bass, Cowan along with fellow New Grass Revival bandmates Sam Bush, Courtney Johnson, and Curtis Burch, and later Bela Fleck and Pat Flynn, introduced a new generation of music fans to an explosive, experimental and ultimately, an eponymous brand of bluegrass.After New Grass Revival disbanded in 1990, John went on to record a series of critically acclaimed solo albums,including what many say is his most adventurous one yet, Sixty. Star packed with the likes of Bonnie Bramlett, Ray Benson, Sam Bush, Rodney Crowell, Chris Hillman, John Jorgenson, Alison Krauss, Bernie Leadon, Huey Lewis, Jim Messina, Leon Russell, John McFee, and others, this album set a new standard of excellence.These days, John Cowan fans have to wait a little longer between shows and possibly travel a little farther to get to them. That’s because he’s working his regular gig traveling the world with the Doobie Brothers, laying down the low notes and singing the high ones.
Allen Shadd is a three-time National Flatpicking champion, winning his most recent title in 2019. He is also a three-time Wayne Henderson guitar competition champion, as well as Merlefest champion, Rockygrass champion and many other state and regional titles that are among his awards. Although he has excelled in his contest endeavors, he is equally at home performing workshops and concerts. He has performed or recorded with many artists, including Tom T. Hall, Claire Lynch, Jimmy Fortune, John Cowan, Peter Rowan, David Grier, Norman Blake, Barry Lee Harwood, T. Michael Coleman, Darin and Brooke Aldridge and many more. Allen was born and raised in north Florida and lived there over 40 years until moving to the Carolinas in 2005 where he has resided since.
I would like to have everyone help me in welcoming Luke Bulla as he joins John Cowan and I for the upcoming dates in December, while our friend Richard Smith continues to heal and recover from his recent health issues. I think most of you are probably familiar with Luke, but let me fill in some blanks for anyone that doesn't know. Luke is an incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist that has won numerous national titles on fiddle, as well as a gifted writer and singer. He has toured in the past with John, as well as Ricky Skaggs, earning a Grammy Award during that tenure. The list of who he has performed or recorded with is impressive, and includes artists such as Brandi Carlile, Jim Lauderdale, Darrell Scott, Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck, Bryan Sutton, Kevin Costner & Modern West, Russ Barenberg Trio, Shawn Colvin, Tony Rice, Chris Thile, Peter Rowan, Patty Griffin, Glen Phillips, Rodney Crowell, and Earl Scruggs, to name a few. For a number of years now he has toured as a member of Lyle Lovett's Large Band.