Mountain Heart moving away from bluegrass roots

There's been a slow but steady transition in the works for acoustic group Mountain Heart, which is moving away from its traditional bluegrass roots in favor of a more varied musical palette.

"Our personality has changed a lot," said fiddler and founding member Jim VanCleve. "I wouldn't really call us a bluegrass band anymore, but in fairness, and as a courtesy to traditional bluegrass fans, we still play some (bluegrass) during our shows. But our show is a lot more than that now. Our show has become a lot more diverse and jammy - it's more jam band-oriented now."

The six-member group - which has been nominated for multiple Grammy, Academy of Country Music, Country Music Association and International Bluegrass Music Association awards and has performed at the Grand Ole Opry more than 100 times - will share its evolving sound Friday at The Melting Point.

"The last 18 months has been kind of a coming-out period for us," says VanCleve, an in-demand session musician now living in Nashville. "We're comfortable with what we are and what we aren't, and we're pleased to be accessible to so many more people now. ... We've got something nobody has heard before, and the attention we've been getting lately verifies that we're moving in the right direction."

Established 10 years ago, Mountain Heart has released six albums and plans to return to the studio this year to capture its new personality, which includes keyboard contributions from singer Josh Shilling (whom VanCleve calls "a superstar waiting to happen") and percussive elements from Nashville session legend Eddie Bayers, who has worked with the group on some recent demo recordings.

"We had some road-tested songs and went into the studio with Eddie

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