Shelter Island - The Town of Shelter Island Recreation Department proudly presents an evening of bluegrass music with the Steep Canyon Rangers on January 16. This terrific young band plays a variety of songs that stay close to the traditional roots of the genre, but the "Steeps" also take extended forays stretching the boundaries of contemporary bluegrass. This past year has been busy for the Rangers, playing at over 100 venues, including a seven-week stint with comedian/banjoist Steve Martin and a month-long tour in Germany. The show with Martin and bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley at Carnegie Hall put the spotlight on a band whose time has come.

From Asheville, NC, the Steep Canyon Rangers have been playing together for nearly 10 years and have built a reputation as an engaging acoustic quintet. Before being nominated for two International Bluegrass Music awards in 2008 (including Album of the Year, "Lovin' Pretty Women"), the Rangers were named "Emerging Artist of the Year" in 2006 at the IBMA awards ceremony in Nashville, TN. Their latest release on Rebel Records, "Deep In The Shade," is climbing the Billboard Bluegrass chart, and a song from that album, Graham Sharp's "The Mountain's Gonna Sing," was picked by National Public Radio as one of the year's top 10 folk songs. The group has been regularly featured on the Grand Ole Opry, as well as major U.S. Bluegrass and Americana music festivals such as MerleFest, Telluride, Grey Fox, DelFest and RockyGrass. The group also regularly performs at rock venues on the U.S. jam-band circuit.

The Steep Canyon Rangers are Woody Platt (guitar and lead vocals), Mike Guggino (mandolin and harmony vocals), Charles R. Humphrey III (bass and harmony vocals), Nicky Sanders (fiddle and harmony vocals) and Graham Sharp (banjo, lead and harmony vocals).

Reserved seats are $20, $25 and $30, and can be purchased online at www.brownpapertickets.com, or at 800-838-3006, or locally by calling the Shelter Island F.I.T. Center at 631-749-0978 or 631-749-2355.