If you like your bluegrass served with a little punch, attitude, grit and gravy, with that busking spirit that was so present and palpable in the early incarnations of Old Crow Medicine Show and made your realize that string band music could be so much more than fuddy-duddy reenactments by crusty ol’ relics, then the...

Chicken Wire Empire rides the line between traditional bluegrass and the contemporary. Its members have spent a lifetime honing their craft, with deep roots in tradition and music throughout the midwest scene. Their 2022 release “Fresh Pickles” features all original music by Minnesota songsmith Chris Castino (Big Wu), reimagined in Chicken Wire Empire’s style. With...

Coming from a musical family, Jacob Jolliff’s father introduced him to the mandolin instrument at age seven and required him to practice every day for ten minutes. In school, Jacob and his father were in a bluegrass gospel band together and played in many festivals and churches throughout the northwest. Under his mentor’s supervision, Jacob...