OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW met in New York and embarked on their first tour in 1998, a loose trip through Canada, played mostly on street corners. They landed in the hills of western North Carolina, living in "all sorts of dilapidated structures: wood and steel, some on blocks and some on wheels." They were busking in front of a drug store in Boone, NC, when a woman asked them if they'd be there long enough for her to go get her father. They would, and her father was Doc Watson, who invited them to play at his annual Merlefest. This led to an invitation to play street style in the plaza in front of the Grand Ole Opry House; they moved to Nashville and played on the Opry main stage in 2001. Since then they've been seen on CMT and in three documentary films, and toured with Marty Stuart and Merle Haggard. They play pre-WWII music with the sort of reckless drive one might expect from musicians raised under the influence of Nirvana, Public Enemy, and AC/DC.