The Earls of Leicester take their name from a hidden pun: the British city Leicester is pronounced "Lester," and paired with "Earl" it spells out Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. In 2013 Nashville, dobro master Jerry Douglas pitched Rounder Records on a project that would faithfully revive the sound of Flatt, Scruggs, and the Foggy Mountain Boys, treating the catalog the way a symphony treats Beethoven. He recruited Shawn Camp on lead vocals and guitar, Charlie Cushman on banjo, Johnny Warren on fiddle, Daniel Kimbrough on bass, and Jeff White on mandolin, with Tim O'Brien and Barry Bales contributing in the early years.

Their self-titled debut, released September 16, 2014, sold 17,000 copies out of the gate, hit number one on the Bluegrass Albums chart, reached number three on Heatseekers, and peaked at 159 on the Billboard 200. It won the G ...