Based in Mississippi, father and son team of Wesley and Mac McDonald along with dobro player, Mick Cagle, and the band's fiddler, Billy Wayne Martin perform “soulgrass” music.  “It’s bluegrass and beyond,” says Mac.  “We try not to limit ourselves to only traditional bluegrass but expand our musical scope and song selection to other acoustic styles. The main thing we are trying to do is perform great songs in a manner that reaches all people. I guess we are truly more Americana in our approach to what we do.  We don’t like to be limited in how we’re labeled.”

   Joined by his son, Wesley McDonald, in 2006, the duo made their first CD together called James Hemenway.  “It was a collection of soulful songs about real people, real life, and real emotion.  We did it bluegrass style, but we hopped it up.  That’s why we called it hopped-up bluegrass.” Apparently the public appreciated their creative approach.  There was a phenomenally positive response  from radio  which is sometimes difficult to garner on a first album by a new group. 

  “It was kind of interesting how we ended up doing that album,” says Mac.  “In 2005, at the IBMA Awards (International Bluegrass Music Association) in Nashville, we had the opportunity to meet Ronnie McCoury of the Del McCoury Band and visit for a few minutes.  We expressed to him that we’d heard these songs from this relatively unknown songwriter, Susan Duffy, and told him we thought her songwriting prowess was exceptional and thought he might like to know about her. We also mentioned how we planned to go ahead and make our own CD one day.  His response was, 'You ought to do it then!'  So we did."

That album earned WILD HARE a first-round Grammy nomination along with national and international airplay.