Imagine you’re listening to a favorite bluegrass instrumental, while in the next room your spouse is watching (groan) some classical quartet on PBS. You nod off, and your subconscious summons the curious sound of Appalachian-bred pickers teamed with tuxedoed symphony musicians inside an amphitheatre perched on a Virginia mountaintop.

This dream has, in fact, already been realized on The Goat Rodeo Sessions, a one-of-a-kind collaboration between four musicians of equally impressive pedigrees who prove here that there’s virtually no musical boundary line that can’t be crossed. With sensitivity, virtuosity and a meet-in-the-middle spirit, the group blends seemingly incompatible musical hues into an audible aurora borealis of shifting, shimmering complexity.

Listeners who prefer familiar, charted territory may want to opt out, though acoustic-music fans who enjoy an unpredictable ride will find The Goat Rodeo Sessions one of the most unique collections they’ve ever, um, herd.