Winners of the 2021 MerleFest Band Competition, Into The Fog is a genre-jumping string band based out of Raleigh, North Carolina. With its members having various backgrounds ranging from bluegrass, country, rock, to funk, Into The Fog creates a musical melting pot of sounds in an acoustic/newgrass setting. The band is made up of Brian Stephenson(Acoustic guitar, Vocals), Winston Mitchell(Mandolin, Vocals), Derek Lane(Bass, Vocals) and Connor Kozlosky (Electric guitar, Vocals).
Originally formed in Wilmington, NC, Into The Fog immediately hit the ground running as a band by heading across the country to compete at the 2018 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition only a few months after coming together. That cross country trip was recorded by friend of the band and videographer Mason Godwin in his documentary Band #7:The Ride to Telluride.
After the Telluride trip, the band got to work playing as much as they could around North Carolina. Becoming a mainstay at over 30 different breweries around the state Into The Fog started to quickly make a name for themselves. Then in November of 2018 the band went to a cabin outside of Waynesville, NC and spent a week recording their debut album Wishin’ It Would Rain, which was released on February 22, 2019.
“The trio crafts a dynamic mix of songs and sounds, from the gypsy feel of “Caawphonation” to the running-from-Johnny-Law feel of instrumental “Cedar Island Rendezvous.”- Brian Tucker(Star News)