Modern Bluegrass Standards (Post-2000)

Bluegrass moved into the 21st century without losing its identity, but it picked up new voices, faster tempos, and more genre-crossing. These songs are the modern repertoire — first-released or co-written after 2000. Old Crow Medicine Show finished off Bob Dylan’s “Wagon Wheel” in 2004 and gave bluegrass a once-a-generation hit. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings wrote “Look at Miss Ohio” and “Tennessee” that bluegrass bands picked up immediately. Larry Cordle co-wrote “Murder on Music Row.” Billy Strings’s “Dust in a Baggie” became this generation’s anthem. Molly Tuttle’s “Crooked Tree” came in 2022. These songs are what bluegrass looks like when contemporary writers carry the tradition forward.

Each song’s page on Picker’s Guide has chord charts, lyrics, recordings, and song history.