Outlaw Country Goes Bluegrass

MOHAVISOUL is a 5-piece, award-winning, San Diego-based, California-style Contemporary Bluegrass-Americana band (Grassicana) playing original music that combines West Virginia roots with 5th-generation California heritage since 2012 (14 years).

MohaviSoul, led by Randy Hanson and Mark Miller, is the new California Bluegrass sound in SoCal writing a new chapter of Contemporary Bluegrass/Americana. They have won awards for their songs Blue Diesel (Akademia, Los Angeles, 2015 Best Bluegrass), Make It Up (18th International Acoustic Music Awards (IAMA), Best Bluegrass/Country Song), and Hurry Up and Wait (43rd SDMA, Best Country/Americana Song).

Also, a finalist with “Dog in The Middle” for 21st annual IAMA awards for Best Group in 2025, plus SDMA Nominee for Best Americana/Country album 2025 and featured 2025 awards show performer, and 2026 SDMA Nominee for Encore album and Shine Like Stars song.

Multiple songs also have charted nationally from our "Stories and Memories" and self-titled "MohaviSoul" albums. Bluegrass Today labeled MohaviSoul as the “Seldom Scene of the West” in their review of our 2024 self-titled album.

MohaviSoul gained national attention at the Bluegrass Ramble in September 2021 in Raleigh, NC as an invited Showcase Artist at the IBMA World of Bluegrass and was the first band since Nickel Creek invited to represent SoCal at IBMA’s World of Bluegrass.

MohaviSoul wraps storytelling in music with a blend of original music and great covers. The 6th self-titled album “MohaviSoul” (April 2024) includes our song “Hurry Up and Wait” that won San Diego Music Awards (SDMA) Best Country/Americana song for 2024 and is getting radio play nationally and internationally.

The 7th and new album “Encore”, released in January 2025 is another great mix of originals and unique covers that fans have loved at our concert and festival shows. So please join MohaviSoul on our journey & we’ll see you down our musical road less traveled performing our story telling wrapped in music & sharing the fun & joy of our journey with everyone…MohaviSoul style!

PRAIRIE SKY is an eclectic bluegrass band from San Diego featuring some of the area’s top instrumentalists and vocalists. Ramona Ault, lead singer, is an accomplished song writer as well as performer, has recorded with a number of bands, as a soloist, and with high profile artists. Her distinctive voice is complimented by the strong lead singing of Jeff Smith the band’s lead guitar player. Jeff played with a number of rock ‘n roll bands before taking up the bluegrass genre. Jeff and Ramona sing lead duets that mark the band’s signature sound.

On bass is band leader Dwight Worden, a multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, mandolin and fiddle and contributes on vocals. Dwight is a member of the SDBS Board He has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the International Bluegrass Music Association and writes the monthly column for San Diego’ music newspaper, the Troubadour, called The Bluegrass Corner.

A key part of the band and its sound is Avery Ellisman playing mandolin and fiddle and also contributing on vocals. Avery is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, song writer, fiddle competition judge, and for many years produced of the highly successful Julian Family Fiddle Camp.

Prairie Sky has performed at the Summergrass Festival, The San Diego County Fair, the Ramona Bluegrass Festival, on KSON Radio’s Bluegrass Special Live, as Featured Band for SDBS and NCBFC, on KPBS, and at other venues. Prairie Sky released its first CD project in the summer of 2015 entitled Shades of Blue which was very well received in San Diego and in the bluegrass community.