What is the name of the group whose debut album was the recipient of local Texas awards?
The Greencards are an American progressive bluegrass band that formed in 2003 in Austin, Texas, and relocated in 2005 to Nashville, Tennessee. The band was founded by Englishman Eamon McLoughlin and Australians Kym Warner and Carol Young. The musicians originally performed in local Austin bars, and soon found increasing acclaim. They have released one independent album, Movin' On, in 2003, and two albums, Weather and Water and Viridian, on the Dualtone record label. Their fourth album, Fascination, was released on Sugar Hill in 2009. Their fifth album, The Brick Album (2011), was self-produced with the direct support of their fans. Pre-production donors were recognized with their names inscribed on the "bricks" that make up the cover art.
Their debut album, Movin' On, was the recipient of local Texas awards and charted on Americana radio stations. Country Music Television named their follow-up Weather and Water as one of the ten best bluegrass albums of 2005, and The Greencards were invited to tour with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson in the same year. Viridian would go on to take the number one position on Billboard magazine's Bluegrass Music Chart, making the Greencards the first international band to do so. Viridian was a critically praised album, and was nominated for Best Country Album by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The track "Mucky the Duck" from Viridian was nominated as the Best Country Instrumental Performance at the 50th Grammy Awards.
The Greencards are noted for their incorporation of other genres of music within an American bluegrass sound. Often labeled as part of, and said to be representative of, the "newgrass" movement, they draw from Irish folk music, gypsy music, rock 'n' roll, folk balladry, and Latin American musical sources. The Greencards' sound has been compared to progressive American folk rock, and they have been credited with helping to expand bluegrass music.
Eamon McLoughlin left the band in December 2009, and resides in Nashville. Carl Miner, originally from Oregon, joined the group in May 2010, playing acoustic guitar. Miner won the 1999 National Flatpicking Championship at the Walnut Valley Festival, and he resides in Nashville.
The Greencards