Sam Bush is a bluegrass icon whose influence is felt in the recent burst of string band-oriented pop and rock. A championship fiddler who won the National Oldtime Fiddler's junior division for three consecutive years, Bush moved to mandolin and founded New Grass Revival in 1971. He gave banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck his first break and spent time in Emmylou Harris' Nashville Ramblers. He's pursued a solo career for the last 15 years, unfurling his warm croon over a sophisticated blend of pop and bluegrass. His latest, 2009's Circles Around Me, returns to his more traditional bluegrass roots. — Chris Parker