David Grisman — universally known as “Dawg,” a nickname given to him by Jerry Garcia — is the most influential non-traditional bluegrass mandolinist of the past half-century. His invention of “Dawg music” in the 1970s — an acoustic fusion of bluegrass, gypsy jazz, Latin, and classical influences — opened a parallel universe for string-band musicians and established him as one of the foundational figures of what came to be called “new acoustic music.” As founder of Acoustic Disc (1990) he has also been the preeminent producer and label-head documenting acoustic music from the 1990s onward.