SANTA CRUZ — Since their inception nearly a decade ago, Santa Cruz quartet AJ Lee & Blue Summit have parlayed their love of bluegrass into their music while also defying listeners’ expectations of what bluegrass is. With each new release, they have expanded upon their sound and given listeners a different experience. “The first album (2019’s ‘Like I Used to’), it was a little more eclectic,” said Lee.
“We had some electric guitars, we had some drums, we even had clarinet on a song. The second album (2021’s “I’ll Come Back”), we returned to our roots a little bit more, keeping it more acoustic, maybe a little more bluegrass-y, some would say.” Their third album, “City of Glass,” which will be released July 19 on Signature Sounds, takes more inspiration from soul and R&B while still keeping the bluegrass sound that fans have come to embrace.
That influence comes courtesy of co-producer Lech Wierzynski of the Oakland-based blues and R&B band The California Honeydrops. “We wanted to go that route because Lech is just an awesome singer and songwriter,” said Lee. “He’s been around the music business for a while, and he’s a good buddy of ours.
He had a lot of influence on this album in the way of drawing more from a soul or R&B background.” Additionally, the album features original songs written by band members Scott Gates and Sullivan Tuttle and a collaboration with a former bandmate of Lee’s, Molly Tuttle, who has had a very successful b.
