Lowcountry,

Sounds like you're jamming with the wrong people for your taste.

There are THOUSANDS of bluegrass songs, and many more that started in other genres that musicians have "put the grass to." And of course there are new ones being written every day. "Fox on the Run" is probably the last song I would personally do in a jam. Right after "Rocky Top."

There have been other threads with lists of bluegrass songs. Try a forum search with "bluegrass" in the subject.

If you don't like Skaggs' "Bluegrass Rules" you ought to listen to his recent one "Ancient Tones" which is truer to the genre. But Ricky definitely picks FAST and HARD, unlike many, many other bluegrass musicians. Try Ralph Stanley. Try IIIrd Time Out. Try Gillian Welch, the songwriter who has had many of her songs recorded by bluegrass groups such as Nashville Bluegrass Band.

Have you heard Salamander Crossing's "Crossing the Bar" which is Tennyson's poem put to music? We do it with bluegrass instrumentation. Not exactly lacking in substance or decent lyrics.

Keep looking and listening. The good ones are out there!