Hot Rize

Artist's Website

HOT RIZE was one of the hottest bands to burst onto the bluegrass scene in the late seventies. Through the 80’s and into the 90’s the band topped the bluegrass charts and radio playlists. Named after the secret ingredient in Martha White’s Self-Rising Flour, Hot Rize blended a fresh, contemporary approach to traditional material with their own innovative and exciting original songs. This talented quartet (Nick Forster, Tim O’Brien, Charles Sawtelle, and Pete Wernick) toured fulltime both nationally and internationally, winning fans and rave reviews, including a Grammy nomination and Entertainer of the Year award from the IBMA. In 1990, Hot Rize chose to go into semi-retirement, at the peak of their popularity. Reuniting only when the spirit moves them, catch original members Pete Wernick, Tim O’Brien and etown host Nick Forster joined by guitarist extraordinaire, Bryan Sutton, who’s been playing guitar in the band for a number of years, taking the place of the late Charles Sawtelle.