When you hit the annual Folk Alliance International conference, you have to be strategic with your time. Make sure your schedule fits in a chance to catch up with some of your favorite artists, but spend most of your time stopping in to see artists about which you’re unfamiliar. The good news is that the programming is so strong, everyone is basically amazing…but when you leave with some clear favorites, you know you have to follow up.
Mason Via (pronounced VIE) was one of the artists I immediately thought of as a perfect fit for HPPR audiences when I was at FAI in Montréal in March. A former (and youngest ever) member of Old Crow Medicine Show, this gifted songwriter is now solo with a new, self-titled album launching in late April. We’ve been spinning the singles, so I was happy when he said he could fit in a chat from the road. He grew up splitting his time in North Carolina and Virginia, surrounded by music. (His dad is master bluegrass songwriter David Via.) But he's currently a "Florida Man" with a not-unswampy sound all his own. His songs evoke everything from boot-stomping joy to pure heartache, and we're stoked for the new album, due on April 24th on Mountain Fever Records.
Click the link at the top of this page for our full interview. Learn more about Mason on his website, and pre-order the album here.
And don’t sleep on his incredible videos that are streaming now. Here are the four we discussed in the interview:
• A heartfelt country slow burner, "Fireball" was produced by Twin Lantern and directed by Isabella Mazzola.
• The fast-paced bluegrass banger titled "There Goes Another One" features Mason on the run from Johnny Law (in a sweet classic muscle car, complements of his buddy, Chip Bondurant, who also directed/produced the video, in addition to serving as the classic car hookup).
• See the delightfully-trippy Claymation, stop-motion film that serves as the video for "Melt in the Sun." (Warning: You’ll be singing this one for days after hearing it – totally welcome earworm.)
• Finally, we talked about “Falling,” the fully animated video by Skybone Studios.
More about the artist (from his website): Mason Via is a leader of modern-day American roots music, celebrated for his solo career as well as his collaborations with bluegrass, Americana, folk, and country artists. An alumnus of Old Crow Medicine Show, he earned a Grammy nomination for his work on the band's chart-topping album Jubilee, while also contributing songs to Grammy-winning and nominated records by Molly Tuttle and Del McCoury Band. He starts his new chapter with Mason Via, whose sharply-written songs—including duets with Ronnie Bowman, Junior Sisk, and Rhonda Vincent—are rooted in the bluegrass music he heard as a child in the Appalachian Mountains.
Fans can stream or purchase “Fireball” today at this link, hear Via’s previously-released singles “There Goes Another One,” “Falling,” and “Wide Open,” at their respective links, and stay up to date on the album ahead of its April 25th release on Mountain Fever Records right here.
Catch Mason on tour in 2025-26! For the latest tour dates and ticket information, you can visit masonvia.com. As of publication, here’s what he has on the books:
Apr 10 - Ann Arbor, MI - The Ark^
Apr 12 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall^
Apr 13 - Mineral Point, WI - The Mineral Opera House^
Apr 17 - Charleston, SC - Charleston Pour House^
Apr 18 - High Point, NC - COHAB SPACE^
Apr 22 - Chattanooga, TN - The Barrelhouse Ballroom^
Apr 23 - Memphis, TN - Minglewood Hall^
Apr 24 - Bloomington, IN - Bluebird^
Apr 25 - Atlanta, GA - Steve’s Back Deck*
Apr 26 - Gainesville, Fl - Heartwood Soundstage (Album Release Show)
May 17 - Fayetteville, WV - Mitchapalooza
May 30 - Panama City Beach, FL - Gulf Coast Jam
Jun 6 - Wake Forest, NC - Wake Forest Listening Room
July 19 - Nashville, IN - Hard Truth Hills Distillery
Jul. 25 – 27 - Lyons, CO - RockyGrass Festival 2025
Aug. 9 - Caroga Lake, NY - Saundersfest 2025
Jan. 30 - Feb. 1, 2026 – Annapolis, MD - Chesapeake Winter Bluegrass Festival
^supporting Sierra Hull
*with Surrender Hill
