The Infamous Stringdusters
The Infamous Stringdusters represent the cream of the crop of young bluegrass musicians. With Andy Hall on Resonator Guitar, Travis Book on bass, Chris Pandolfi on banjo, Jesse Cobb on mandolin, Jeremy Garrett on fiddle and Andy Falco on guitar, the band pulls together skill and experience well beyond their years. They boast a combined resume that includes collaborations with artists like Dolly Parton, Leftover Salmon, Earl Scruggs, Bering Strait, Ronnie Bowman and Levon Helm. Catch the 'Dusters on fire at The Cedar, just two days after their third album Things That Fly is released!
The ‘Dusters’ first two albums were impressive in their own rights. Fork In the Road proved the band’s chops right out of the gate, earning International Bluegrass Music Association awards for Album, Song, and Emerging Artist of the Year. Following that, The Infamous Stringdusters showcased a solidified lineup and exciting chemistry adding guitarist Andy Falco. But Things That Fly, recorded over ten days at Charlottesville, Virginia’s Haunted Hollow Studios and out April 20, 2010 on Sugar Hill, is a different animal entirely.
What strikes the ear first is the sheer scale of the ‘Dusters’ new sound. Thanks in no small part to their adventurousness and their wise studio partner, co-producer/engineer Gary Paczosa (Alison Krauss, the Dixie Chicks, Nickel Creek), there are a good many lush, new layers. Explains Book, “I think string bands have a tendency to feel like when they go to record, doing anything that they can’t necessarily replicate 100 percent live is sort of off limits. Instead of saying ‘Well, this is how it sounds when the six of us play it standing around in a circle, so we’re just going to put mikes up and capture it and that’s going to be it,’ we really got a little deeper in the production aspect.” Going deeper meant trying new things; Hall added lap steel and Garrett viola and—in the boldest departure from the stringed instrumentation the band is known for—Falco played organ, all of which enhanced the sonic landscape.
Tickets are on sale now from the Cedar Ticketline (612-338-2674 ext 2), Cedar outlets (Electric Fetus, Homestead Pickin' Parlor, Irish on Grand, and Depth of Field), and online at Ticketweb.
Enjoy $4 pints of delicious Flat Earth beer on (Flat) Earth Day!


