Lewisville Western Days: Big Love Car Wash
About the Artist:
Like the music they play, Big Love Car Wash is full of dichotomies: whimsical yet serious, fanciful yet pragmatic, filled with lofty dreams yet grounded in reality. They call it “heart forward dreamgrass”.
The quartet discovered pure magic the first time they shared a stage together, when mandolinist Sol Chase hired them all by chance for a bluegrass gig in Austin, TX. From the first few songs, they had what musicians sometimes call “stage telepathy.”
The band coalesced soon after, and a signature sound emerged, leaning into the members’ diverse love of bluegrass, folk, jazz, Celtic music, and rock. They peddle an Americana-oriented, bluegrass-steeped sound that’s built on rich traditions, yet boldly exploratory. That sound took flight on their self-produced debut album, Daydream, recorded at Austin’s fabled Arlyn Studios — where Willie Nelson’s influence fills every nook and cranny. The 16-track album was released in June 2025.
Embarking on their first national tour in the summer of 2025, the band rose to new heights, selling out shows and securing 2nd place in the prestigious Telluride Bluegrass Band Competition, which has been a spring board for bands such as The Chicks, Greensky Bluegrass, and The Fretliners. A European tour in 2026 further expanded the band’s reach, where the headlined their first festival (Haga Bluegrass in Sweden), and brought their mission of love to delighted new audiences.
Lyrics from the band’s three songwriters touch on themes of empathy, environmentalism, and community building. Even the band’s name is a verbal reference to something like a group hug. The phrase came from the late Yonder Mountain String Band frontman and jamgrass luminary Jeff Austin. Austin once proclaimed that the energy he received from a connected audience felt like moving through “a big love car wash.”
More about Big Love Car Wash, including upcoming shows