Sara Watkins
The Wood Brothers
Chris Wood is best known as the bassist for successful avant-groove trio Medeski, Martin and Wood. In recent years, though, he’s been splitting his time by touring with his brother, blues guitarist Oliver Wood. The brothers grew up in Boulder but due to a big age difference, rarely played music together as kids. Oliver eventually headed to Atlanta, where he became a sideman for blues guitar ace Tinsley Ellis and started his own band, King Johnson, while Chris landed in New York City and became immersed in the underground jazz scene. Since 2006, though, family bonds have been too strong to resist, and the Wood Brothers have been gaining steam with a driving brand of back-porch Americana that blends Chris’ fluid bass lines with Oliver’s gritty hill-country plucking. With help from nimble drummer Tyler Greenwell, the trio’s expansive folk sound shifts smoothly between rootsy styles, often bumping with rock-edged juke joint shuffles and or striking with soul-searching blues ballads—all delivered with sincere authenticity. Appearing at the Four Corners Folk festival.
The Black Lillies
Missing the days of Johnny and June or Gram and Emmylou? Give a listen to this Tennessee-based country crew summoning the spirit of vintage country as it was delivered by many of the old-school greats. Multi-instrumentalist Cruz Contreras fronts the quintet, flanked by banjo, pedal steel, and roadhouse electric guitar, as he shares odes to rambling hearts with fellow vocalist Trisha Gene Brady. Contreras’ heartbreak tunes possess more purity than anything being manufactured by the suits in Nashville. On the group’s new album, Runaway Freeway Blues, they’re delivered with both dusty revivalism and elements of modern indie folk edge—a reason the band can dwell comfortably at both the Grand Ole Opry and South by Southwest. It’s modern Americana crafted in a way that will make you find currency country again. Catch them at South Pearl Streer BrewGrass in Denver and the Pagosa Folk n’ Bluegrass Festival.
The New Orleans Suspects
Many fans of New Orleans music were bummed when the Radiators called it quits back in 2011. Fortunately the band’s rowdy brand of Cajun rock lives on with the band’s bassist Reggie Scanlan in his new project, the New Orleans Suspects. The group includes help from an all-star Big Easy cast, including longstanding Neville Brother’s drummer “Mean” Willie Green, guitarist Jake Eckert of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, keyboardist CR Gruver (Outformation) and sax man Jeff Watkins (James Brown, Joss Stone). Like many versatile Crescent City outfits, the band delivers a gumbo of sounds, peppering the pot with jazz, driving funk, soul and rock. Audiences get new originals and familiar covers—danceable tunes that offer the perfect festival soundtrack. Catch them at the Telluride Jazz Festival.
Sara Watkins
Sara Watkins has been playing music since her pre-teen years, making her name as one-third of the mega-popular bluegrass-pop trio Nickel Creek. Since the band dissolved back in 2007, Watkins has stayed plenty busy, lending her fiddle to the likes of the Decemberists, John Mayer and Jackson Browne. She’s also released two solo albums, including last year’s Sun Midnight Sun, which finds Watkins coming into her own as a songwriter and expanding her sound from contemporary folk into realms of rough-edged alt-country. With help from some high-profile friends (Browne, Fiona Apple, and Benmont Tench), the album moves between bright bluegrassy romps (“I Remember the Night”) to darker more expressive displays of emotion (“When It Pleases You”). It’s promising versatility from an artist expanding her range with age. Appearing at Jazz Aspen Snowmass and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.
The Deadly Gentlemen
Take a look at the line-up in the Deadly Gentlemen and you might be expecting some high-octane newgrass virtuosity. After all, the group is full of ripping talent: inventive banjo picker Greg Liszt (Crooked Still, Bruce Springsteen’s Seeger Sessions Band), bassist Sam Grisman (son of mando legend David Grisman), fiddler Mike Barnett (Jesse McReynolds, Tony Trischka), and mandolin prodigy Dominick Leslie. But instead of focusing on fierce picking and soloing indulgence, the Gentlemen like to keep tunes concise and emphasize full-song vocal harmonies—a style the members have dubbed “epic folk” and “grasscore.” You can hear the string chops filling in the gaps, but the standout high-energy singing is a refreshing change of pace. Plus, the group lends the treatment to some great covers like Vampire Weekend’s “The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance” and the Grateful Dead’s “Touch of Grey.” The band will release a new album, Roll Me, Tumble Me, on Rounder Records this summer. See them on Saturday at Rocky Grass.
