The very same day the Hackensaw Boys played in front of less than a hundred people at Club Metronome, they were added to the lineup of the prestigious Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, TN. With names like Pee Paw, Shiner, Skeeter, Salvage and CB, the Boys aren’t about to let any fame get to their head. Travelling the country in their 1964 touring coach called the "Dirty Bird", the Hackensaw Boys are grounded in their roots and there’s no disguising their Appalachian charm and mastery of authentic old time hootin' bluegrass.
Upon the initial notes of the first song that resonated in complacent
harmonies echoing in an almost forgotten time and place, a sixty something year old man walked by with a satisfied grin and mentioned, "This is like doves in my ear. You don’t hear this often. I have to ride my bike to Alabama to hear this."
The band clearly appreciates their time on stage as Pee Paw announced to the crowd, "we like to enjoy ourselves," to the sparse but attentive crowd, while adding a plug for Muddy Waters and how good their coffee tastes. The seven piece band consists of a variety of vintage and down-home instruments including: banjo, guitar, harmonica, dobro, bass, fiddle, mandolin and a one of a kind self made percussion instrument named the "charismo."
Playing in a tight circle, the band ignites a celebratory feel that straddles porch music mixed with festive Klezmer and tight arrangements that allow all the band members to stomp their feet and contribute to the circle. Although not specific, the Boy's music feels like the Earth, sways like the trees and flows like the streams of their Virginia homes. The band went into yee-haw jubilation of "Cannibal Breakdown" and dedicated it to Vermont, the only state without billboards on the interstate. Further on into their set the Boys did their version of "Cotton Eyed Joe," with an added bluegrass twist that got people skipping, hopping and dancing. Pee Paw’s voice sounds about twice as old as its true age, and buzzes like he’s been working on the railroad for the duration of his life, but in fact he's been working on the bass and fiddle. Although the Hackensaw Boys have only been honing their craft for almost four years, their music holds traditionally cool, as if bluegrass has always been "the" style to play.
