Oh, Manchester, So Much To Answer For

so this morning, while channel-surfing, I happened upon a rebroadcast of last night's grand old opry live on cmt, I saw something I never, ever expected to see onstage at the opry (or, really, anywhere - in the u.s., at least): a russian country/bluegrass band, bering strait. they sing both in russian and english, but their music and playing are pure nashville (and not in a glossed-over rascal flatts sense, more like vince gill or marty stuart). their website has three song snippets available for download, and their eponymous debut is currently in stores (on universal south, to boot!). they're pretty damned good, too. if nickel creek can cover pavement, why can't a sextet of russians play fiddles and steel guitars? not to mention that as much as I love "all the things she said," they're an awful lot better than t.a.t.u....