When Punch Brothers and Béla Fleck come together in this special double-bill evening, one thing is certain: audiences benefit from their lifelong devotion to bluegrass as much as the musicians.

The band of virtuosi that comprise Punch Brothers has spent more than a decade changing the face of acoustic music, stretching the limitations of their instruments and influencing a generation of young musicians, some of whom will appear with Béla Fleck as part of his set based on his 2022 Best Bluegrass Grammy-winning album My Bluegrass Heart. Beyond the baker’s dozen of Grammy Awards and Genius Grants between them, their collective skills bring worldly rhythms and soulful jams to Hill Auditorium. While Punch Brothers founder Chris Thile and Béla Fleck have made several UMS appearances with their own projects in recent years, this special concert marks Punch Brothers’ return to UMS for the first time since 2009. “With enthusiasm and experimentation, Punch Brothers take bluegrass to its next evolutionary stage, drawing equal inspiration from the brain and the heart.” (Washington Post)