Put together five of the West Coast's hottest instrumentalists with original material and a high-octane bluegrass sound and the result is Due West, a Bay Area-based group that combines the innovations of West Coast new acoustic music with a rhythmic drive rarely heard west of the Appalachians.

Guitarist Jim Nunally is one of the best bluegrass guitarists in the world, lighting a rhythmic fire under many of the most important West Coast bluegrass bands (David Grisman, John Reischman and the Jaybirds, Dix Bruce & Jim Nunally) and recordings of the last several years. Banjo player Bill Evans, known for his work with David Grisman Bluegrass Experience, the Bluegrass Intentions, and Peter Rowan, occupies a unique niche in the banjo world, celebrated for both his traditional and progressive styles as well as his original compositions. Add to this mix the award-winning mandolin playing of Due West co-founder Erik Thomas, the phenomenal bluegrass and long bow fiddling of Chad Manning (another David Grisman veteran) and the rock solid support of bassist Cindy Browne, who has played with everyone from Wake the Dead to Mel Torme, and the result is an original sound that joins traditional to progressive in a way that reminds the listener of both Flatt and Scruggs and the New Grass Revival. Due West just released their second album, These Boots.