Tanasi (Friday)
Emerging Artist
2025 Lineup | Past Years: 2024 Lineup | 2023 Lineup
About the Band
Tanasi crafts a rich, world-inspired mountain sound, blending the soulful echoes of roots artists from across the globe into music that feels both timeless and deeply personal. Tanasi leans into the music they have learned through their travels, collaborating with musicians from around the world and refracting global sounds through their Appalachian lens, bringing it home. Their songs find their way into the very depths of your heart, resonating with an undeniable warmth and authenticity. Tanasi is a collaboration of celebrated Asheville, NC musicians, featuring the tight sister-like harmonies of MerleFest-winning songwriter Anya Hinkle and Mary Lucey (Biscuit Burners, Uncle Earl) with the inimitable dobro musings of Billy Cardine, known worldwide for his distinctive voice on all things slide about whom Jerry Douglas says,” I couldn’t pick a better example of what the possibilities are with the instrument.”
Members of Tanasi have toured the world over, from Japan and India, Nepal to Bali, throughout Europe, Hawai’i and across the US and Canada, at festivals such as Bonnaroo, Rockygrass, and Merlefest and on stages such as The Ryman Auditorium, The Kennedy Center, and Carnegie Hall. Tanasi’s worldgrass sound is a vibrant celebration of music’s power to unite, transcending cultural boundaries to reveal the shared rhythms of our humanity. With every note, they remind us that what connects us is far greater than what sets us apart. They will be releasing their debut album in the summer of 2025.
About the Band Members
Billy Cardine has been recognized as a slide guitar pioneer, taking the Dobro into unchartered musical genres. Billy’s distinct voice on all things slide has led him to collaborations with Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, world-renowned bassist Edgar Meyer in Porous Borders of Music, and alongside Jerry Douglas on Tut Taylor’s Tribute album Southern Filibuster. His album, Six String Swing, ushered the dobro into the realm of Gypsy Jazz and his mentor Mike Auldridge said it best when describing the album, “The swing music Billy Cardine is tackling on the resophonic guitar on this project is some of my all-time favorite music, and in his hands, the music itself takes on an all-new meaning to me. It all sounds so natural to the resophonic guitar that one is almost forgiven for not realizing that this is pretty much impossible to pull off so convincingly. Billy is definitely a rising star in the resophonic world!” He has performed at Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, the Ryman Auditorium and major festivals, such as Bonnaroo, Merlefest and Rockygrass. As an engineer and producer, his works have won national and international awards and recognition, including Indie Acoustic Music Project’s Roots Album of the Year, Chicago Tribune’s Best Bluegrass Records of the Year, and an Apple iPod Playlist Hot Pick. As an internationally featured artist, he has toured in India, Japan, Europe and Canada. More info at https://billycardine.com/epk.
Mary Lucey is a talented vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. As a bass player, she held down the rhythm for the band she cofounded, The Biscuit Burners, as well as with the all-female group Uncle Earl. Over the last several years, she has been showcasing clawhammer banjo as her new rhythmic muse with projects such as Lovers Leap and The Billy Sea. Mary continues to draw people into her original songs with a lyrical style, haunting in its honesty. She has played venues such as The Kennedy Center, Ryman Auditorium, Bonnaroo, Merlefest and Rockygrass. Her music has been featured on BBC World TV’s Destination Music and PBS’s Roadtrip Nation, Mountain Stage and Woodsong’s Radio Hour.
With vivid storytelling and arresting honesty Anya Hinkle’s music is steeped in the tones of folk and bluegrass and seasoned by travels the world over. No Depression says of her 2021 release Eden and Her Borderlands [Organic Records] “…one of roots music’s gems so far this year.” She “effortlessly delivers…” (Pop Matters) with “…vivid songwriting and transportive vocals…” (Folk Alley). Hinkle won the 2019 MerleFest Chris Austin Songwriting Competition, the 2023 USA Songwriting Competition and was runner-up in the 2022 International Acoustic Music Awards. Her newest album, OCEANIA, released in 2024, was produced by legendary Irish producer Kevin Moloney (U2, Sinéad O’Connor)