A kind of folk music associated with the central eastern United States.
US country music of the Appalachian Mountain states, characterized by high harmony singing and virtuoso banjo or mandolin playing. Singer and mandolin player Bill Monroe (1911– ) is the founder of the genre with his band the Blue Grass Boys (formed 1938), which 1945–48 included guitarist Lester Flatt (1914–1979) and banjo player Earl Scruggs (1924– ).
Folk songs of European origin and old-time string-band traditions fed into bluegrass. The singing style is called “high lonesome”. Scruggs contributed the three-finger five-string banjo technique which became standard. The Dobro (an acoustic guitar with a metal resonator) became another typical bluegrass instrument from 1955. Among other bluegrass musicians are guitarist and singer Jimmy Martin (1927– ) and the Dillards duo (formed 1958). blue grass

Dense, spreading grass of the genus Poa, which is blue-tinted and grows in clumps. Various species are known from the northern hemisphere. Kentucky bluegrass P. pratensis, introduced to the US from Europe, provides pasture for horses.