POPulus gears up to release new bluegrass single

Troy’s popular music band, POPulus, will be releasing a new single this month in a genre the members haven’t previously explored: bluegrass. The band will be releasing a cover of the song “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” this Friday, May 1.

Bluegrass is a genre that has inspired students in the band.

“I’m a fiddle player, and I’ve grown up on bluegrass and classic country music,” said Chase Dawson, a senior interdisciplinary studies major from Phoenix, Arizona who is playing the fiddle on the single. “I’ve been inspired to record since doing studio work with POPulus, and I wanted to do a bluegrass song, so that’s why I chose ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky.’”

“Blue Moon of Kentucky” is a 1945 song written by Bill Monroe, who created the bluegrass genre. However, the song was such a hit that famous artists began to cover it in their own styles. One of the most famous is Elvis Presley, but other artists include Patsy Cline, Ray Charles and Paul McCartney.

POPulus’ cover is performed by Troy students featuring Ashton Moore, a high school senior who plays the banjo. Not only will Moore be playing banjo on the track, but he will also be featured as the lead singer.

“We needed a banjo player, and there’s not one that I know of in Troy,” Dawson said. “I reached out in a Facebook group asking for a banjo player.

“Within a couple of hours, I had multiple people telling me I needed to get Ashton Moore, so I ended up reaching out to him. He came up on a Monday night, we went into the studio, and we got the song done in two hours.”

Dawson said Moore wasn’t originally planned to be featured as the lead singer on the track. However, during recording, Moore was asked to just give it a shot, and he was more than happy to do so.

“He hit the nail on the head,” Dawson said. “It was an incredible experience. He’s got a great attitude, and he’s amazing to work with.”

Bluegrass might be a genre that POPulus looks to explore in the future. Dawson described a competition called the Southeast Fiddle Championship, and he believes that POPulus has a good chance of winning the band category of the competition.

POPulus is a student band that has musicians of all types collaborate to work on songs and record them in the studio. The band also holds local performances, such as performances on football gamedays and the yearly Troyapalooza event around Halloween.

“It’s just a bunch of people that are passionate about music and love sharing it,” Dawson said. “It’s really a tight-knit family of students and teachers who love music, and we put together some excellent set lists and shows for the community.”

The single will be available to stream on Friday, May 1, on all streaming platforms. To keep up with POPulus updates, follow @populusband on Instagram.