They're a trio, in case you haven't met. The lady fair with the electric bass, the serene voice and the raven tresses, that's Carol Young. Mr. Intense Guy over there shooting roman candle flames out of the mandolin and other smallish stringed instruments is Kym Warner. The dynamic red-headed fiddler who just ever-so-slightly resembles Tim O'Brien is Eamon McLoughlin. The most conspicuous thing they have in common, these new stars of Americana, is that they ain't American. McLoughlin is English. Warner and Young are Australians. But all three grew up in households full of honest American roots music, from Merle, Lefty, Ricky, Dolly, Loretta and their blessed ilk.

Their training ground were jam sessions. Their passion and talent was evident, but their idols and holy shrines were in the U.S., so that's where they went.

When Kym and Carol met Eamon at a recording session in Austin, the chemistry was there from the outset. Before long, their friendly bluegrass jams blossomed into one of the city's most popular bar bands. They made fans and friends of scene leaders like Robert Earl Keen and the Bruce Robison/Kelly Willis family, who took them on the road and introduced them to large audiences. Their self-released debut album Movin' On pushed them to create original music, writing and scouting for songs that broke the rules of bluegrass and that began to carve out a fresh hybrid of styles somewhere between classic folk balladry and jam band rock and roll.

Accolades followed. They took Best New Band at the Austin Music Awards in 2004. The Houston Chronicle ranked their live show among the city's top five nights of music of the year. The Greencards landed a deal with Dualtone in 2005 and released Weather and Water to great acclaim. Dylan and Nelson tapped them to open their now-famous U.S. tour of minor league baseball parks in the summer of 2005, 30 dates in all. Their video for the song "Time" became one of the most played on GAC and CMT's Americana shows. They were nominated for New/Emerging Artist of the Year at the Americana Awards in 2004 and then won that prize in the fall of 2006.

The Greencards' song "Time" was introduced to Americana radio on Shut Eye's The United State of Americana, Volume Three.