Mountain Highway will perform at the Dawn Theater Sept. 5 at 7 p.m.
Courtesy | Mountain Highway Website

Tennessee bluegrass band Mountain Highway will bring “tradition, harmony, and drive” to the Dawn Theater Sept. 5 at 7 p.m.

Mountain Highway is a four-person band from Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It has been a band for about 10 years and playing music full-time for seven years.

Victoria Glover, the band’s banjo player, said Mountain Highway plays a lot of traditional bluegrass music but loves to include a variety of genres in their shows.

“We also love stuff like the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, and Willie Nelson,” Glover said. “We like to add that variety to our shows. It gives us an extra fun, funky feel.”

Mary Wolfram, chair of the board of the Friends of the Dawn Theater, said she came across the band when Glover and her father, another band member, recognized Wolfram’s husband, Director of Economics and Professor of Political Economy Gary Wolfram.

“Mountain Highway came to us weirdly,” Wolfram said. “My husband teaches economics, and we were at Niagara Falls, where he was wearing a Hillsdale College T-shirt. One girl in the band saw the Hillsdale College T-shirt and she said, ‘Oh, are you from Hillsdale College,’ in a very Tennessee accent.”

Wolfram said they haven’t hosted a concert at the Dawn Theater since February, but hope to begin bringing in music on a more regular basis.

“The last concert that we did was with Greg Whalen last February,” Wolfram said. “We’ve had other events, but no music events.”

Greg Whalen ’25, the son of a Hillsdale English professor, performed original songs inspired by his time in the Marine Corps at the Dawn Theater in February. 

Wolfram said the Mountain Highway concert is sponsored by Hillsdale Renaissance, a real estate development firm, and Waldvogel Wealth Management.

“Due to the generosity of our sponsors, we have been able to keep the prices quite affordable,” Wolfram said.

Tickets are $12 each if ordered in advance and $15 at the door. For groups of 10 people, tickets are $10 per person, according to Wolfram. Doors open at 6 p.m.

“The ticket prices are purposely affordable because we want a lot of people to come,” Wolfram said. “It’s not about making a profit for us, it’s for bringing entertainment and art to the community.”

Glover said each member of the band loves what they do, and audiences love the variety of their music, as well as watching the band having fun on stage.

“This ain’t your granddaddy’s bluegrass,” Glover said. “It’s hard driving, funky vibin’, traditional, and fun all in one show.”

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