Western North Carolina band Balsam Range brings award-winning bluegrass to CoMMA

What started as informal kitchen jam sessions before one Christmas in the early 2000s, has turned into award-winning bluegrass, born out of western North Carolina. Now, the popular group Balsam Range is bringing a list of chart-toppers to CoMMA.

The band, which includes Dr. Marc Pruett on banjo; Alan Bibey on mandolin and vocals; Tim Surrett on bass, dobro, baritone, and lead vocals; Caleb Smith on guitar, lead baritone vocals; and Don Rigsby on fiddle and vocals; will take to the stage Friday, Nov. 21, to play newly released music, as well as hits that span 18 years of bluegrass performance. Rigsby joined the 2025 tour after the departure of former member Buddy Melton.

The band’s first gig was at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, which Surrett said ended up being John Boy and Billy’s Comedy Weekend with over 2,000 people there. “We just absolutely blew them up and, you know, they loved it and we just kind of started from there,” Surrett said.

Now, the band plays 60-70 shows per year all over the country and in Europe as well as Canada. This year, Balsam Range is wrapping up their shows of the year back home in North Carolina, which Surrett said is intentional to be home with family and because they host the Balsam Range Art of Music Festival every year at Lake Junaluska in December, a tradition for almost a decade.

Surrett, who previously performed in the world of gospel music, said he has played at CoMMA several times before, but this is Balsam Range’s first time as a group. They have played in Morganton before, though, at the Red, White & Blue Festival.

For those attending, Surrett said Balsam Range shows offer variety. It’s not just straight-up hard bluegrass all the time, he said. There are songs that will appeal to anybody, with the most requested song being “Trains I Missed,” off their 2010 album. Engagement with the audience is also something to be ready for.

“We have a lot of fun,” Surrett said. “There’s a lot of laughing and carrying on and that’s a big part of it. They’re all just great guys that really love the music and love more than anything, interaction with the crowd.”

As for the setlist, Surrett said that the band likes to change it up, featuring songs that old-timers will recognize, and some newly released songs. “We don’t want to be Groundhog Day and play the same thing every time,” Surrett said.

Hailing from Haywood County, the group’s namesake comes from the Great Balsam Range, a range of mountains that surrounds their home county, and is the meeting point between the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains.

“To be honest, we didn’t figure we’d play anywhere where people didn’t know what that was,” Surrett said. “We had no idea how the band was going to grow, and part of all that was due to satellite radio, and other radio outlets like WNCW, and our friends down there, they picked up our first CD and just kind of blew up on us in a really good way.”

Next thing he knew, Surrett said the band was playing shows in California, Oregon, Washington, western Canada, eastern Canada, and Europe. Some of his personal favorites, Surrett said, were the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado, the Grand Ole Opry, the Newberry Opera House in South Carolina, and of course, Lake Junaluska.

But even though the band has had great success throughout the country and beyond, Surrett said it’s always fun to play close to home.

“We’ve had great success all over the country and everything, but in western North Carolina, you’ve got to bring your A game,” Surrett said, adding that’s a good thing.

“Sometimes people say, you know, we’ve won ‘Entertainer of The Year’ a couple of times and they say ‘that means you’re the best band in the world,’ and I tell them ‘I’m not sure we’re the best band in Haywood County,’” Surrett said, adding “There’s a lot of great music in Western North Carolina.”

“We just want to keep doing what we’re doing for as long as we’re able to and as long as people keep coming,” Surrett said. The band has remained the same over the past 15 years, with a couple of members stepping in after some of the original ones left.

Balsam Range has become one of the most decorated and award-winning acts in the world of bluegrass. The band received several awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association. Those awards include “Entertainer of the Year” in 2014 and 2018; “Album of the Year” in 2013 and 2017; “Song of the Year” in 2011 and 2015; “Vocal Group of the Year” in 2014 and 2015; “Male Vocalist of the Year” in 2014 and 2018; and “Bass Player of the Year” in 2018. The group also has 14 critically acclaimed albums and countless chart-topping singles.

Tickets are still available at www.commaonline.org and range from $18 to $48 for adults and $10 for youth. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the CoMMA box office at 828-433-7469.