Shane Austin is a bluegrass guitar player from East Tennessee State University. He plays with Appalachian Trail and is a recipient of the Steve Gulley Scholarship.

9:20 PM

Multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Darrell Scott mines and cultivates the everyday moment, taking the rote, menial, mundane, and allowing it to be surreal, ever poignant, and candidly honest, lilting, blooming, and resonating. The words he fosters allow us to make sense of the world, what is at stake here, and our place in it. And ultimately, Darrell knows the sole truth of life is that love is all that matters, that we don’t always get it right, but that’s the instinctive and requisite circuitous allure of things, why we forever chase it, and why it is held sacred.

Darrell Scott comes from a musical family with a father who had him smitten with guitars by the age of 4, alongside a brother who played Jerry Reed style as well. From there, things only ramped up with literature and poetry endeavors while a student at Tufts University, along with playing his way through life. This would never change.

After recently touring with Robert Plant and the Zac Brown Band (2 years with each), and producing albums for Malcolm Holcombe and Guy Clark and being named “Songwriter of the Year” for both ASCAP and NSAI, these days find him roaming his Tennessee wilderness acreage, hiking along the small river, creating delicious meals with food raised on his property, and playing music. He often leads songwriting workshops to help people tell their own truths with their stories, and is as busy as always writing, producing, performing, and just plain fully immersing himself in life.

Blue Highway Fest 2026 is coming October 8th through the 11th to beautiful Big Stone Gap, Virginia!

And folks, this lineup is something special! You’ll hear Blue Highway, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, Dailey & Vincent, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, The Seldom Scene, The Grascals, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice, Balsam Range, Authentic Unlimited, NewFound Road, The Cleverlys, High Fidelity, Kenny & Amanda Smith, and many more!

Four days of incredible music, great people, and the beautiful Appalachian Mountains as your backdrop.

So grab your friends, pack your bags, and make plans now for Blue Highway Fest — October 8th through the 11th in Big Stone Gap, Virginia!

Get all the details and tickets at BlueHighwayFest.com.

Blue Highway Fest 2026 — where the mountains meet the music!