East Benton Fiddler’s Contest
Hillbilly Goddess
Alicia Nugent cover
Maine Acoustic Band – Videos
One of the really neat aspects of this type of music is that it can be played anywhere: in a field, at your backyard barbecue, in the barn in the fall or spring (might get a little nippy to do so in the dead of winter, but it’s been done – I remember a time or two in the barn at Stonehedge where you could see your breath). Acoustic band music is organic, and has a long tradition here in the maritimes, from the Acadian fiddlers from the North to the bluegrass banjo pickers from the South. They all come together here in the great State of Maine in this tradition we call ‘bluegrass’. Bluegrass acoustic music is something that we love as a band and always attempt to stay true to that calling. However we do feel it’s our responsibility to broaden the definition of that music from time to time, by performing popular tunes in the bluegrass tradition. The use of acoustic band instruments playing popular tunes is a very popular niche in this neck of the woods. The nice thing is that it can be enjoyed by a half-dozen friends around a campfire and doesn’t require a tractor-trailer load of equipment like a rock band needs. Even with full PA and all equipment, the Back Woods Road band will fit into a couple of compact sedans. The Bose L1 system affords a lot of sound with very little space requirement. It will fill small- and medium-sized spaces with sound. And, should the power go out, we can keep on playing since all of our instruments are acoustic. There are no wah-wah pedals or Marshall amps in this Maine acoustic band (not that there’s anything wrong with that!). Acoustic band music at its best, no frills or auto-tune here.