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This Baltimore-based quartet has one toe-tappin’ foot in traditional bluegrass while pushing boundaries with their blazing harmonies and musicianship. Their ability to seamlessly transition from down-home bluegrass to spirited improvisation will quickly make you understand what they mean by Dirty Grass!
„With a nod to the past and glance to the future the Dirty Grass Players are keeping alive the long history of bluegrass while pushing the traditional genre into the next generation. The Dirty Grass Players are an energetic explosion of old-time pickin’, coloured with an inventive, newgrass hand, that is given lyrical life by their soaring vocal harmonies that exist on an ethereal plain.
They live at the crossroads between the traditional, which is the backbone of what they do, and the progressive with their innovative forward-thinking approach. The Dirty Grass Players, with their steady, workman-like precision and loose adventurous spirit are a band that can both confound Bill Monroe and cause him to smile uncontrollably.
Their music is progressive, traditional, experimental, imaginative, and at its core, Dirty.
“The Dirty Grass Players: One of only two bands to make a repeat appearance in Glide’s “Best of DelFest” list, the Baltimore-based Dirty Grass Players laid waste to the Music Hall for the second year in a row thanks to an explosive Saturday afternoon set.
Once again performing in front of a capacity crowd whose numbers rivaled some of the wildly popular late-night shows held on the same stage, the quartet of progressive firebrands offered up a healthy mix of originals, including “Grand Voyager” and an intense set-closing rendition of “Shiny Side Up”, along with some rousing covers, such as New Grass Revival’s “This Heart of Mine” and Bill Monroe’s “Wheel Hoss.”
With a pair of legendary DelFest appearances now under their belt, in addition to an increasingly rigorous touring schedule, it’s easy to see why the Dirty Grass Players are rapidly becoming one of DelFest’s most sought-after acts. ”
— DAVE GOODWICH, GLIDE MAGAZINE
The Dirty Grass Players formed in 2015 around banjo-picker Alex Berman, guitarist Ben Kolakowski, and mandolinist Ryan Rogers at a series of informal picking-sessions in the Baltimore area. The band quickly started to garner attention in the area, culminating in them winning the competitive Charm City Bluegrass Festival Battle of the Bands in 2017.
The band’s original bassist and fiddler left shortly after andt they solidified around the addition of bassist Connor Murray and reemerged as a powerful four-piece. Since then they have released two albums, 2020’s Beneath the Woodpile and 2023 Shiny Side Up and established themselves as one of the most exciting young bluegrass bands around.
With their high-octane shows they have become a mainstay on the festival circuit, being invited to play at some of the the most prestigious gatherings from coast to coast including Delfest, Grey Fox, Kingman Island, Hot August Music Festival, Dark Star Jubilee, Ramble Fest, First Class Music Fest, and many others.
“It’s hard to match Billy Strings’ blend of traditional and progressive bluegrass with heady jams, but if anyone comes close it’s The Dirty Grass Players.
The Baltimore-based group packed the DelFest Music Hall during the early afternoon on Saturday and did just that, mixing originals like ‘Shiny Side Up’ with reinvented covers of Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ and New Grass Revival’s ‘This Heart of Mine’ that brought the burgeoning crowd to a fever pitch.”
— MATT WICKSTROM, HOLLER COUNTRY
Their latest album Shiny Side Up, produced by The Travelin’ McCourys’ Coldy Kilby, continues to further the evolution of bluegrass with its hard-driving sound that showcases the progressive, darkside of bluegrass with its forward-looking, non-traditional playing and songwriting.
In its praise of the album, Bluegrass Unlimited says, “Shiny Side Up validates the arrival of the Dirty Grass Players onto the scene and shows bluegrass is in good hands going forward.”
“Shiny Side Up perfectly captures the high-octane energy of their live shows which they have become known for. This is best exhibited by “Shiny Side Up” and “Riptide” (featuring fiddler Jason Carter) both which allow the Dirty Grass Players to showcase the strength of the band and what they do best, simply letting loose and ripping.
The murder ballad “Bound to Die” closes the album, which is appropriate as it and the opening “Shiny Side Up” are the most complete songs on the album, both with their lyrical and musical composition.
Both songs also best represent the dual nature of the Dirty Grass Players and the music, that ability to stay true to the roots of bluegrass while at the same time giving a peek into the soul of a string band who is known to play everything from Pink Floyd to Lourdes to the Grateful Dead with stunning conviction in their sets.
Shiny Side Up validates the arrival of the Dirty Grass Players onto the scene and shows bluegrass is in good hands going forward.”
— TIM NEWBY, BLUEGRASS UNLIMITED
Wenn du Live-Musik liebst, dann ist The Shakespeare Pub genau das Richtige für dich! Jeden Freitag [auch in der Woche, siehe Termine hier] stehen bei uns Live-Bands, Singer Songwriter jeder Art, auf der Bühne. Komm und genieße Live-Musik in einer entspannten, aber dennoch fröhlichen Atmosphäre mit Guten Biere und Leckerem Essen.
Der Shakespeare Pub ist die perfekte Live-Musik-Kneipe für deinen Wochenendausflug. Genieße Live-Unterhaltung und ein Abendessen mit Freunden oder mach es zu einem unvergesslichen Abend! Was du auch immer wählst, mach dich bereit für ein großartiges Live-Musik-Erlebnis.
Worauf wartest du also noch? Markiere deinen Kalender und komm zu uns ins The Shakespeare Pub für Live-Musik jeden Freitag- und Samstagabend. Bis bald!
Save the date – Live-Musik im Shakespeare Pub!