Steve Martin, Alison Brown, Dan Tyminski & Del McCoury Give This Lil Nas X Hit a Bluegrass Spin
Steve Martin and Alison Brown. Beth Herzhaft / Courtesy Shorefire Media
When Lil Nas X scored a massive chart-topper with his Billy Ray Cyrus collab “Old Town Road,” which spent 19 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in 2019, the inescapable hit was soaked in elements of pop, trap and country.
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Now, banjoists Steve Martin and Alison Brown have welcomed a collection of fellow bluegrass artists to give the track a galloping bluegrass spin.
For the new imagining of the song, the pair is joined by bluegrass luminaries Del McCoury and Dan Tyminski, who join in offering up some sterling lead vocals — particularly on moments such as 87-year-old McCoury singing the defiant lyric, “Can’t nobody tell me nothing.” The track also features Ronnie McCoury on mandolin, Stuart Duncan on fiddle and Garry West on bass.
Beyond a simple cover, Martin wrote new bluegrass-oriented lyrics infused with his signature wit and humor, and traded out the original’s country trap vibe for a banjo-driven bluegrass jam.
“I’ve always loved the idea of ‘Old Town Road’ as seen through bluegrass eyes,” Martin said in a statement.
Brown noted she was immediately intrigued by the idea, and said: “It’s such a well-known song that my challenge was to come up with an arrangement that would showcase our banjos without giving the song away too soon.”
Martin added, “Fortunately, some of the best bluegrass musicians in the world agreed to join us, and here we are, ready to ride.”
Martin and Brown worked together on the 2025 album Safe, Sensible and Sane, which included collaborations with Jackson Browne, Indigo Girls and Vince Gill. The album earned seven nominations at the 2025 International Bluegrass Music Association Awards. Meanwhile, Brown and Martin are featured in the American Currents exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.
Brown made history as the first woman musician to win an instrumentalist of the year honor from the IBMA when she was named banjo player of the year in 1991. Martin, whose career has spanned movies, comedy, television and music, received the IBMA’s entertainer of the year accolade in 2011. Brown and Martin have also each earned the IBMA’s distinguished achievement award.
Watch the video for the bluegrass rendition of “Old Town Road” below:
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.