The 2nd South Carolina String Band is a

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

of Civil War re-enactors who recreate

American popular music American popular music has had a profound effect on music across the world. The country has seen the rise of popular styles that have had a significant influence on global culture, including ragtime, blues, jazz, swing, rock, bluegrass, count ...

of the 1820s to 1860s with authentic instruments and in period style. The group claims to "perform

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

music as authentically as possible . . . as it truly sounded to the soldiers of the Civil War."2nd South Carolina String Band official website. According to the band's official website, the group formed in August 1989. The founding members--consisting of Joe Ewers, Fred Ewers, John Frayler, Dave Goss and Bob Beeman-- were amateurs who played a variety of 19th-century instruments, including banjo,

bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, a ...

, drum, fiddle,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, and

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

. They began by playing informally during re-enactment campaigns. They eventually moved to playing dances and concerts. Today, the roster comprises seven members, including players of the fife, flute, and

pennywhistle The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. ...

. The 2nd South Carolina String Band has released six albums through Palmetto Productions. Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns has featured their music in his films '' Mark Twain'' and ''

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

''. The band appears in the film '' Gods and Generals'', directed by Ronald F. Maxwell, and their music appears on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

. In November 2004, the band received the Stephen Collins Foster Award for their preservation of 19th-century American song. The band's current personnel includes: Joe Ewers (banjo), Fred Ewers (fiddle), Dave Goss (guitar), Bob Beeman (tambourine & bones), Mike Paul (fiddle), Joe Whitney (flute) and Tom DiGiuseppe (banjo). Past band members have included Marty Grody (fife, tin whistle), John Frayler (military drum), and Greg Hernandez (fife). The band is now currently retired.

Discography

*''The Monmouth Tapes'' (1991) *''Southern Soldier'' (1997) *''Hard Road'' (2001; the best of ''We're Tenting Tonight'' (1991) and ''We are a Band of Brothers'' (1993)) *''In High Cotton'' (2002) *''Dulcem Melodies'' (2006) *''Lightning in a Jar'' ive(2008) *''Strike the Tent!'' (album) (2013) *''Ain't Dead Yet!'' (2017)

Videos

*''The Monmouth Tapes'' (1991) *''Far, far from home'' (2000)

References

External links

2nd South Carolina String Band official website
{{Authority control American folk musical groups Historical reenactment groups American Civil War reenactment Musical groups established in 1989