Town Mountain is ready to turn locals on to their three-part harmonies of banjo, mandolin and fiddle playing.

The bluegrass band, based in Asheville, N.C., is set to play Monkey Barrel for the first time on Saturday.

"I had heard some other people talk about the town (Gainesville) and that they’ve had an especially good time at the Monkey Barrel," said Phil Barker, vocalist and mandolin player for Town Mountain. "So we gave them a call and thought it would be a good fit."

Barker said you can expect a night of bluegrass that’s good to dance to.

"You can expect rowdy bluegrass, all original with a few covers here and there, high energy and authentic bluegrass."

The four-member band is made up of lead singer and guitarist Robert Greer, Jesse Langlais on banjo, Barrett Smith on bass and Barker on mandolin. Langlais, Smith and Barker provide additional vocals as well.

Several fiddle players will be on hand for the event.

Barker said the best way to understand and enjoy bluegrass music is to see it live.

"The best way to see bluegrass is to see it live and see what actually goes into it," he said. "Once I saw it ... the people actually performing it ... I saw how authentic and organic it was."

Town Mountain will be performing songs off their first CD, "Original Bluegrass and Roots Country."

Barker said one tune to listen for is "Colt 45," which was written by Langlais.
"It is an up-tempo song that is a lot of fun to play," Barker said. "‘Whiskey with Tears’ also is another good one to play.

"We also do a couple of interesting covers. We do a Bruce Springsteen tune, "I’m on Fire," and we’ve been known to do a Grateful Dead tune here or there."