Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder + Abigail Washburn

Although he's still fairly young (at least in bluegrass terms), Ricky Skaggs has earned heaps of respect for his picking and singing. He has a great résumé, too, having played with Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, Ralph Stanley and Emmylou Harris. He ditched a career in mainstream Nashville to go back to his roots, and his thunderous band lives up to its name.