“This ain’t no shirt and tie bluegrass music — this is high-octane, gritty, string band music that’s sure to get you [out of] your seat and keep you dancing all night,” Pert’ Near Sandstone’s website proclaims. The fresh young group from Minneapolis is delivering bluegrass to the 21st century one fiddle at a time. With two already released CDs, including “Live Just Outside of Sandstone” in 2005 and “Up and Down the River” in 2007, these boys already have a jump-start on their careers.
Shockingly enough, not many college students listen to bluegrass but instead to heavy “screamo” or MTV’s Top 20 Hits. Much different than today’s popular music, Pert’ Near Sandstone has a unique sound and focuses more on instrumentals than vocals. The band members include: Nate Sipe on mandolin and fiddle, J. Lenz on guitar and vocals, Kevin Kniebel on banjo and vocals, Jeff Swanner on upright bass, Ryan Young on fiddle and guitar, and Andy Lambert on clogs and washboard.
After popping “Needle and Thread” — Pert’ Near Sandstone’s latest — into the player and pushing play, I was caught off-guard when the fiddle and banjo sounds of opening track “Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss” burst out of the speakers. Nevertheless, I took the time to enjoy and appreciate the “twangy” style. Anyone can enjoy this style of music, not just country folk from the South or your grandpa Bob from the farm.
To their credit, the band members do a great job intertwining the vocals with instruments. However, some of the singers seem to be talking in a monotone voice rather than singing in songs such as “Paddlin’ Down 1st Avenue.” The song did improve when the instruments took over and other singers joined in to create an interesting chorus.
Bringing in familiar modern day sounds, “Corsican Lady” grabs the listener’s attention with a gentle acoustic guitar. This love song may have cheesy lyrics like “As I lean over love pulls me down,” but the unique sounds of the guitar mixed with traditional bluegrass instruments overshadows them. “Sonny’s Rag” is uses a nice twist by using clogs as an instrument. The song “Chief O’Neill’s Favorite” concludes the CD, leaving the listener with a perfect understanding of what their band is all about: instruments of the usual and innovative type.
Pert’ Near Sandstone revitalizes bluegrass music by adding their own mix-ins to give it a 21st-century feel, allowing them to attract listeners of all ages. To experience this “new age twang,” you can buy their old CD’s on Pertnearsandstone.com or wait for the release of “Needle and Thread” on Oct. 21.
o get a firsthand taste of their music, visit Cafe Montmartre (located on 127 East Mifflin St.) on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 9:30 p.m. The cost of $8 will buy you great music and keep you dancing all night.
4 stars out of 5
