New Standard Bluegrass

New Standard brings together a variety of styles and influences ranging from traditional artists to contemporary bluegrass and gospel artists. The band was founded in October, 2011 by Zach Brown, Spencer Blankenship, and Mason Thomas - all students at Virginia Tech at the time. One month later, Stewart Scales was asked to be a part of the band as the bass player and the band began performing at local restaurants in the Blacksburg area.
In the following years, the group played more festivals such as Sedalia, and has performed at the Harvester in Rocky Mount on two occasions, once as a solo act and another opening for the Lost & Found. Zach Gilmer & Jason Wheeler have played banjo with the group in the past. Robert Overstreet was added on banjo in 2018, and the band continues to expand its performance horizons up and down the Blue Ridge today. In late 2019, the group wrote several new songs to be featured on a 2021 release entitled 'One More Tear' which was recorded and mastered at Hambone Productions in Lynchburg, VA.