Crooked Still and Flook

Music Starts:03/09/2007 - 8:00pm

If it is rare to find a quartet where each player is indisputably a virtuoso, it is even rarer to find TWO such bands on the same bill! Such is the case for this inspired double bill, featuring the hottest young alternative bluegrass-folk group out of the East Coast, Crooked Still, and the brilliant instrumental Irish-rooted ensemble Flook.

Rock energy coexists with old-time mountain soul. Spooky backwoods melodies combine with hip hard-hitting beats. Raw, searing blues riffs intermingle with high heavenly vocals. Meet Crooked Still, a group on a mission to bend the boundaries of traditional music. Featuring cellist unlike any other, Rushad Eggleston is no stranger to Cedar audiences, having displayed his prodigious talents with Fiddlers Four, and Darol Anger’s Republic of Strings. Aoife (pronounced "EEF-uh") O'Donovan (The Wayfaring Strangers) augments Rushad’s rumbling cello riffs with her sultry vocals, while Greg Liszt (who toured with Springsteen’s The Seeger Sessions) flings futuristic four-fingered banjo rolls into the mix, and Corey DiMario adeptly keeps pulse on double bass.

The two flutes, guitar and bodhran of Flook flow together seamlessly to weave and spin traditional Irish-rooted tunes with a rare blend of fiery technical brilliance, delicate ensemble interaction and a bold, adventurous musical imagination. For this tour, cofounder Michael McGoldrick (also of Capercaillie) will substitute for flautist Sarah Allen, who is on maternity leave, and rejoins flautist Brian Finnegan, Ed Boyd on guitar, and multiple All-Ireland bodhran champion John Joe Kelly. Sparks will fly during this special reunion of old friends, stunning musicians all. We can expect even more fun when both groups combine forces for a grand finale.