The Wilder Flower with Newfound Gap

The Wilder Flower blends Folk, Americana, Bluegrass, and Old-time influence into something new and fluid. They thrive vocally on three-part harmonies, whether a two-chord old-time ballad, or a modern, minor-filled melody, and instrumentally feature bluegrass banjo tunes, fiddle and clawhammer string-band songs, flatpicking guitar, and everything in between. Their unique sound is centered around original songs and tunes that are thoughtfully arranged and adapted to showcase their tasteful instrumental sensibilities. They flex between genres and writers in each song, but there is something to their collective taste that speaks the same language, though switching dialects.

If you’ve been to a show, you know how lively they are on stage. With years of experience dating back to their early teenage years, they are natural performers. As a band they enjoy engaging with audiences, telling stories, and opening up about their songwriting and musical process. Because of this openness, they create a meaningful shared experience with the audience at every show, and often leave people laughing.  Their  loyal audience members joke about returning again and again to their shows because the dialogue on stage is always unpredictable, and unmissable. 

Newfound Gap will be opening the show.  

Newfound Gap is from Leicester, North Carolina. Bayla Davis is a 16-year-old clawhammer banjo player and Traditional Appalachian vocalist. Sylvie is a 14-year-old fiddler and vocalist, and Judah is a guitar player and vocalist. Emme is an 11-year-old mandolin player and bass player.

At 6 years old, each started in the Buncombe County Junior Appalachian Musicians Program (JAM) in Black Mountain, NC with Hannah Seng, Ben Nelson, and Cary Fridley. For the last five years, they have been scholarship students at the Academy for the Arts in Asheville studying with Jerry Sutton, Bryan McDowell, Nick Dauphinais, Natalya Weinstein, and Josh Goforth.

Bayla has played on the main stage at Bela Fleck’s Blue Ridge Banjo Camp, the Kruger Brother’s Academy Stage, the main stage at Balsam Range’s Art of Music Festival, and the Cabin Stage at Merlefest. As a group, they have performed at The Earl Scruggs Festival, Woodsongs, the IBMA’s Youth Stage, Kids on Bluegrass, and Appalachia Sessions, among others. This year, they received second place in Youth Band at Galax. Each is a Galax individual winner in their instruments. They have won fiddlers conventions across the Southeast. Bayla recorded tracks with Cary Fridley for the Fine-Tuned album, a mentorship and collaboration-based project aimed at professional development for emerging artists playing traditional music in Western North Carolina. Bayla was also chosen as a ‘23-‘24 Fellow in From the Top’s Learning and Media Lab. Each plans to teach and perform for future generations.