2024 release of Tom Petty’s epic country covers album “Small Country” appeared on CMA Awards stage through Dierks Bentley joining a trio of award-winning female bluegrass performers for a spirited rendition of “American Girl.”

If you are not familiar, Sierra HullBronwyn Keith-Hynes and Molly Tuttle represents how over-a-century-old bluegrass is progressing from hollers and mountains to the Grand Ole Opry stage in the streaming era.

Hull is a longtime International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Mandolinist of the Year. Keith-Hynes is an IBMA award-winning fiddler whose work with hit performer Tuttle and her band Golden Highway is critically acclaimed.

Note that Bentley, a Phoenix native, is a devotee of Appalachian bluegrass. The quartet’s performance takes on the feel of one of the many nights they’ve likely already shared, picking and jamming at venues like Music City’s legendary Station Inn.

“Playing with Molly, Sierra and Dierks’ band is thrilling,” notes Keith-Hynes. “It’s exciting that there were breakdowns, compromise instrumental sections and solos that felt (genuinely familiar to bluegrass). We had a blast on stage, being ourselves and rubbing shoulders with my friends – it felt like a night at my house.”

“The crossover moments are always a joy,” Hull continued. “I grew up two hours down the road from Nashville and always kept up with mainstream country on the radio, so it’s in my DNA—of course, bluegrass is in Dierks’ DNA, too, because at soul is a bluegrass.”

Tuttle’s thoughts scratch the surface of a larger conversation about an emerging moment of bluegrass resurgence in the country mainstream as of late:

“It’s cool to be at the CMA Awards. Over the last decade, seeing the country world grow from feeling outside of my realm to being a part of the (repertoire) of many artists who play here is exciting. Anytime a song like “American Girl” can be translated into a more rootsy style – and on a national live stage – it’s great.

This article originally appeared on the Nashville Tennessean: CMA Awards: Dierks Bentley covers Tom Petty’s “American Girl.”