Bering Strait was a Russian

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

band, whose style was sometimes called "redgrass". In 2003, the band was nominated for a Grammy Award and appeared on the TV show ''

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''. The group disbanded in 2006. The lineup on their first album was Alexander Arzamastsev (drums), Natasha Borzilova (lead vocals), Sergey "Spooky" Olkhovsky (bass guitar), Sergei Passov (mandolin, fiddle), Lydia Salnikova (keyboards, background vocals), Sasha Ostrovsky (steel guitar, Dobro) and Ilya Toshinsky (electric guitar, banjo).

History

Bering Strait was the band's third name, beginning with Cheerful Diligence. In 1996, they recorded in the US under the name Siberian Heatwave and were guests on ''Prime Time Country'' on the Nashville Network. The band dissolved in late May 2006, but the announcement was not made until June 1, 2006. At the time of its dissolution, the band comprised five musicians: Alexander Arzamastsev (drums), Natasha Borzilova (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Sergei "Spooky" Olkhovsky (bass), Alexander "Sasha" Ostrovsky (dobro, steel guitar, lap steel), and Lydia Salnikova (lead vocals, keyboards). Ilya Toshinsky played electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and banjo on the band's first album but left the band after recording the second album. Other former Bering Strait musicians included Sergei Passov (mandolin and fiddle), and Andrei Misikhin (bass). Chris Pandolfi, of the bluegrass band the

Infamous Stringdusters The Infamous Stringdusters are a progressive acoustic/bluegrass band. The band first emerged in 2006 with the limited release of a five-song extended play CD ''The Infamous Stringdusters,'' followed in 2007 by their first album ''Fork in the Road ...

, played banjo on their tours. Natasha Borzilova is the daughter of a nuclear scientist who died from the results of the

Chernobyl disaster The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two nuc ...

. Bering Strait's self-titled debut album was released in 2003 on Universal South Records, now known as

Show Dog-Universal Music Show Dog Nashville is an American independent record label specializing in country music artists. It was founded in 2005 by singer Toby Keith. It was later merged with Universal South Records into Show Dog-Universal Music in December 2009 until ...

. The song "Bearing Straight" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental. Universal South released the instrumental track as a radio single in order to qualify it for the Grammy Awards. A documentary, ''The Ballad of Bering Strait'', chronicled the band's career over two and a half years and was released to theaters and broadcast on

Country Music Television Country Music Television (CMT) is an American pay TV network owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched on March 5, 1983, as Country Music Television, CMT was the first nationally available channel devoted to coun ...

. Band members were featured on ''

'', and several songs from the album were used in the television shows ''

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'' and ''

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''. The album sold about 150,000 copies. The second album, ''

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'' was released in 2005 and featured a more rootsy, less polished sound. The first single from the album was a cover version of "

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" by

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

. After their second album, Bering Strait disbanded. Toshinsky became a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

, playing guitar and banjo for various artists. He also released one solo album, ''Red Grass'', in 2016.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

Audio/Video
- All six members are the only guest in program 254 of the

WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour The '' WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour'' is a radio program created, produced, and hosted by folksinger Michael Johnathon. Background WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour is a live audience celebration of grassroots music and the artists who make it. T ...

{{Authority control Russian country music groups Show Dog-Universal Music artists Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups disestablished in 2006