The Grascals, a bluegrass supergroup, present a tough decision for Utah music lovers. You could see them perform Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m. in Logan. Or you could attend festivities related to the Sundance Film Festival, which begins the same night.

"I hope [Sundance] doesn't hurt us," said Terry Eldridge, singer and guitar player for the Nashville-based sextet. "Go see Brad Pitt on the big screen. Tell Angelina I said, 'Howdy.' "

Does he know Angelina Jolie? he was asked. Absolutely, Eldridge replied.

And when he launches into the following story, you realize the musician wasn't joking.

The weekend actor and fellow musician Billy Bob Thornton was to marry Jolie back in 2000, the then-couple visited a recording studio where veteran session player Eldridge was hanging out. He was drinking moonshine at the time, already "three sheets to the wind," and offered some to the then-25-year-old screen siren. She took him up on the offer, and they drank together and had a ball while Thornton was off in the studio.

Fellow Grascal Jamie Johnson, the group's tenor, said he has heard Eldridge boast of the close encounter many times. "There are no songs about Angelina on this album," Johnson said of the band's upcoming release, "but plenty about booze."

Booze is an important ingredient in perfect bluegrass songs, but you would never know it looking at the band's professional pedigree. All six members were seasoned musicians playing alongside other musicians before banding together to see what chemistry would result.

» Banjo player Kristin Scott Benson was a member of the Larry Stephenson Band and is a past winner of the International Bluegrass Musician Association's Banjo Player of the Year award.

» Bassist Terry Smith has backed up legends such as Jimmy Martin, Wilma Lee Cooper and the Osborne Brothers.

» Fiddler Jeremy Abshire is known as one of the best fiddle players in the bluegrass world and has played in a band with Dale Ann Bradley.

» Guitarist and mandolinist Danny Roberts co-founded New Tradition, a bluegrass-gospel group that toured the country for some 20 years.

» Johnson and Eldridge were once longtime backup musicians for Dolly Parton.

It was Parton who recognized Johnson and Eldridge's talents, encouraging them to form a group of their own in 2004. She helped them out by scheduling them to open for her. "She made it easier for us," Eldridge said. "It would have taken us 10 years to be where we are now without her help."

Johnson adds: "We were a rocket ship, and she was the fuel behind us."

The band is still in high demand, playing on Hank Williams Jr.'s most recent album and Charlie Daniels' Christmas album.

But the band's focus is on building its own name, something that should be accomplished in March when its long-awaited fourth album is released.

Some day, perhaps Angelina Jolie will brag that she knew Eldridge way back when.

dburger@sltrib.com