Boston Folk Group ‘Crooked Still’ At Chandler Music Hall Nov. 26

Crooked Still, called "the most important folk group to emerge from Boston, with state-of the-art musical chops and a deep understanding of American traditional music’s raw melodic grace" by the Boston Globe, will perform at Randolph’s Chandler Music Hall Sunday, Nov. 26 at 7 p.m.

Crooked Still redefines traditional music. Driving fiddle styles are inventively adapted for the cello. A novel four-fingered picking technique turns the banjo into both a funky rhythm instrument and a vehicle for expressive solos. Add angelic vocals and a rock-solid driving bass accompaniment and you’ve got the ingredients for a revolutionary success. The band’s unique combination of earthy grooves and soaring vocals is drawn from bluegrass, old-time and contemporary folk traditions.

Crooked Still’s instrumentation could raise eyebrows. Aoife O’Donovan plays guitar and handles most of the vocals, which is pretty standard, but beyond that, things get slightly weird: Rashad Eggleston plays cello and flat-picked cello and adds vocals, Gregory Liszt plays banjo, and Corey DiMario plays double bass. That’s it. Not the usual set of instruments you’d find in a bluegrass or folk band.

Often, Crooked Still will slow down a fast song such as Bill Monroe’s "Can’t You Hear Me Calling," adding their own backbeat. On the old standard "Little Sadie," they slow it down a bit while adding a funky cello part. On Bob Dylan’s "Oxford Town," they speed up the pace, but still add their own arrangement with the double bass and cello.

"It seems our audience is extremely diverse," says band member DiMario. "I think we appeal both to people that are steeped in traditional music as well as people who are perhaps just being introduced to it. People are always struck by the fact that we have such a unique instrumentation and approach to these very old songs. We sound complete in spite of our limited instrumentation. We sound fresh and progressive while also fitting clearly and organically in the string band tradition."

Tickets for this concert may be reserved by calling the Chandler Box Office at 728-6464 or via email at tickets@chandler-arts.org.

This concert is presented by Chandler Center for the Arts and sponsored by Dandelion Acres, Century 21 and Curves.

During intermission and before and after the performance visit the Chandler Gallery for the annual Holiday Gift Bazaar.

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