Energy, integrity mark bluegrass band's latest

Bluegrass is perhaps one of the few genres of American music that hasn't been able to grow and develop as the years roll on. Or at least that's the case in the eyes of countless music fans, who view bluegrass (very inaccurately) as old-fogey music, a quaint form of Americana practiced by fat white guys in overalls.\nKing Wilkie aims to change that perception. Self-styled as a breath of fresh air for bluegrass, the Charlottesville, Va.-based group of 20-somethings wants to infuse bluegrass with new blood and new bite while remaining loyal to the legends who came before (by, for example, naming themselves after Bill Monroe's favorite horse).\n Thus King Wilkie -- which performs Friday, June 18 at the 38th annual Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival in Bean Blossom, Ind. -- issues Broke, its first CD for famous bluegrass label Rebel Records. The disc features souped-up renditions of standards by Ralph Lewis, Jimmie Rodgers and the Monroe Brothers, among others, along with several original cuts.\nEschewing self-indulgent instrumental flashiness for grit and vivacity, the six-man band succeeds, at least somewhat, in making bluegrass attractive to newer generations without selling out to the modern pop-music mainstream. There is integrity, and there is energy, and while King Wilkie isn't the Next Big Thing for bluegrass (at least, not yet), the band proves that bluegrass isn't just for old fogeys anymore.