Saddle River String Band
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Saddle River String Band | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada |
| Genres | Bluegrass Blues Folk Country Ragtime |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Sunzahorse |
| Members | Mike Dixon James Phillips Troy McArthur Tom DesRoches |
| Past members | Catherine MacLellan |
Saddle River String Band is a Canadian bluegrass quartet, with influences of blues and folk from Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Their sound derives from their guitar/banjo/mandolin/double bass set up (sometimes with kazoo, harmonica or ukelele) and from their insistence on performing into a single condenser microphone like earlier bluegrass & folk acts.
History
Saddle River began as a Summerside project, taking their name from the Canadian film, Road To Saddle River. Playing strictly for fun, the group explored the traditions of old-time country, blues, ragtime and bluegrass. Their enthusiasm carried over to their audiences, and the group began to take on a life of its own.
The original line-up from 2003-2006 included James Phillips (mandolin, guitar), Troy McArthur (banjo), Catherine McLellan (guitar) and Mike Dixon (guitar, kazoo). When McLellan left the band, the remainder hired the Summerside bassist Tom DesRoches on stand-up bass and formed the Saddle River String Band.
Saddle River SB's distinctive sound have made them a distinct act in the Canadian East Coast folk and bluegrass scene. Where most 'bluegrass' bands show a marked influence from commercial and traditional bluegrass and country music recordings and culture from the last 80 years, Saddle River's gumbo of North Americana folk music is hinged particularly on pre-war blues and old-time music styles.[citation needed] The songs of Charlie Patton, Lead Belly, Tampa Red, Son House, and Robert Johnson fill out the band's repertoire beside country, old-time and bluegrass standards and original tunes that range from contemporary to traditional takes on classic material.
Before Saddle River, among other things, James Phillips and Catherine McLellan played in The New Drifts, a folk-rock band and Mike Dixon and Troy McArthur were the acoustic blues duo, the Rattlesnakin' Daddies. Tom DesRoches had a long career as a professional musician playing in country and rock bands all over PEI. Elements of these bands and a burgeoning interest in roots music, spurned on by early 1990s pre-war blues revival (release of Robert Johnson Complete Recordings box set and Columbia's 'Roots & Blues' series), and the bluegrass and old-time renaissance, coupled with the group's love for the music of Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Steve Earle, and Townes Van Zandt, created the Saddle River sound.[citation needed]
Artists covered by the Saddle River String Band include Jimmie Rodgers, The Carter Family, Bill Monroe, Hank Williams, Rose Maddox, Mississippi John Hurt, Gillian Welch, Charlie Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Chuck Berry.
In 2008 the band was shortlisted for a Grammy nomination in the Bluegrass Recording category & in 2010 member Mike Dixon was nominated 'Bluegrass Entertainer of the Year' at the East Coast Bluegrass awards. Saddle's song 'Bye Bye PEI' was included in the 2011 Charlottetown, PEI production 'Come All-Ye.'
In 2012 SRSB will release their sophomore effort, 'Ain't Done Dyin.'
Discography
- Saddle River Stringband (2007)
- Ain't Done Dyin' (2012)
Awards
- 2007-2008: PEI Music Awards Best Bluegrass Recording & Best New Artist (Saddle River String Band) (won)[1]
- 2008: East Coast Music Awards Bluegrass Recording of the Year (Saddle River String Band) (won)[2]