Old Crow Medicine Show was Americana before there was Americana.

The band formed in 1998.

“Back then if you had a fiddle and a banjo, you were automatically a bluegrass band,” says Morgan Jahnig, the band’s upright bass player.

Old Crow Medicine Show brings its “Union Made Tour” to Penn’s Peak, Jim Thorpe, 8 p.m. Oct. 17. Opening the concert is Palmyra. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Old Crow Medicine Show uses the acoustic instruments of old-time music, including fiddle, banjo, dobro, mandolin and upright bass.

The Americana Music Association defines the Americana music genre as “a mix of acoustic and electric roots styles that tell a story.”

Old Crow Medicine Show often includes many other genres, giving them a wide appeal.

“There is something for everyone. Frequently, we see three generations of a family sitting together on a blanket on the lawn. We’ve maxed out at four,” says Jahnig.

The band keeps the energy high in their concerts.

“If you are not having fun, you are doing your job wrong,” says Jahnig in a phone interview from Ventura, Calif.

The group’s best-known song is “Wagon Wheel,” co-written by Bob Dylan and Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show.

Dylan is said to have recorded the chorus in 1973. Secor added verses 25 years later. Old Crow Medicine Show’s version was certified triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2023. Darius Rucker had a hit with his recording of the song in 2013.

Jahnig, who recalls the band performing at Penn’s Peak six or seven times in recent years, joined the band in 2000. He’s the group’s longest-serving musician except for original member and frontman Ketch Secor.

Jahnig has ties to the Lehigh Valley on his mother’s side of the family. His grandfather is Alan Raber (1925-2019), who worked for the WKAP radio station for 38 years.

Raber was known for his pioneering talk radio work and for play-by-play accounts of thousands of high school sports games.

Jahnig was transfixed when he first saw Old Crow Medicine Show busking, and was thrilled when they called one time after he gave them his email.

“They asked me to play at nine that night. I asked where, and they said, ‘Ryman Auditorium.’”

Ryman was the home of the Grand Ole Opry until 1974.

It turned out that Jahnig’s first gig with the band was the celebration of the Opry’s 75th anniversary radio broadcast.

Old Crow Medicine Show was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2013.

“Union Made” is the band’s latest album, which was released in June on Hartland Records. It has a number of guest stars, including Ray Benson, Del McCoury, Ronnie McCoury, Evan Felker, Molly Tuttle, Maggie Rose, Lee Oskar, John Carter Cash and Ana Cristina Cash.

“We benefited from having our own studio in Nashville, so we could bring in a lot of our long-term friends without worrying about a budget. We opened for the McCourys on the first tours that we ever did,” Jahnig says

Del McCoury and his son Ronnie McCoury are bluegrass legends. Ray Benson has led the Western Swing group Asleep at the Wheel for 55 years. Lee Oskar is one of the top harmonica players in the United States. John Carter Cash is a son of Johnny Cash and June Carter.

“’Union Made’ is the celebration of our country’s 250th birthday, embracing our brothers and sisters with togetherness and unification. We are stronger together than apart,” says Jahnig.

The title of the album, which also references Woody Guthrie’s song “Union Maid,” features songs about history, including “Merrimack & Monitor” and “Lewis and Clark.” The album begins with the celebratory “Howdy Do America” and ends with “For What It’s Worth.”

“For What It’s Worth,” written by Stephen Stills, was a hit for Buffalo Springfield, charting at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967.

“We wanted to show that it is OK to speak out about things that we disagree with. There is a tradition of protest songs in folk music. Jesse Welles, who was on the album, has written many,” Jahnig says.

Jahnig produced the album, “Union Made.” Although he is the group’s upright bass player, he did not play on the album, giving the job to his band mate PJ George.

“I decided to stay on the other side of the glass. There is always a period of building trust there, but in this case I built it over 20 years with the band,” says Jahnig.

Old Crow Medicine Show has toured in 49 states, continental Europe and the United Kingdom.

“Travel is the best form of mind expansion,” says Jahnig. “Realizing the differences in people makes you sharper and more accepting.”

Opening act Palmyra is a Virginia-based Americana-Folk Rock trio of Teddy Chipouras, Sasha Landon and Mānoa Bell.

Old Crow Medicine Show, Palmyra, 8 p.m. Oct. 17, Penn’s Peak, 325 Maury Road, Jim Thorpe. Tickets: 866-605-PEAK (7325), https://www.pennspeak.com/