The Boston Globe calls Dry Branch Fire Squad “one of bluegrass music’s most popular bands, renowned for its spry mix of front-porch standards, modern ballads, and the old-time sounds from which bluegrass first sprang. The quartet is positively adored for its droll, scampy stage shows, fueled by Ron Thomason’s cornpone-and-hard-cider wit.” Founded in 1976, rooted in the heartland of central Ohio, the band plays aggressively traditional bluegrass and old-time tunes with wry humor and cultural commentary, concocting a performance that is alternately soul stirring, politically edgy, and hilarious. It's no wonder that the quartet has become an audience favorite throughout northern California, from their annual shows at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass to return performances at the Strawberry Music Festival. With founding member and former Clinch Mountain Boy Ron Thomason on mandolin, Dan Russell on stand-up bass, Tom Boyd on banjo and dobro, and Brian Aldridge on guitar, the Dry Branch Fire Squad delivers an enormously entertaining show that evokes the essence of bluegrass!

From America’s Third Coast, on the shores of Lake Michigan, Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys are heading to the Freight for an evening of bluegrass, country, blues, and swing featuring high-energy originals about bank-robbing aunties, moonshine whiskey, and the vagaries of life and love. The band features Joshua Rilko on mandolin, Spencer Cain on bass, Keith Billik on banjo, Mark Lavengood on dobro, and of course Lindsay Lou on guitar and lead vocals. In a review of their recent album, Release Your Shrouds, the website bluegrassmusic.com calls them “a fresh new voice in modern bluegrass, with driving instrumentals and a straight-from-the-still quality to Lindsay’s voice that gives the project a strong sense of authenticity and heritage.”

Visit the Dry Branch Fire Squad's website

Visit Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys' website

Listen to a track from Dry Branch Fire Squad:

Listen to a track from Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys: