Crooked Still is an American band consisting of vocalist
Aoife O'Donovan, banjo player
Gregory Liszt
Gregory may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Gregory (surname), a surname
Places Australia
*Gregory, Queensland, a town in the Shire of ...
, bassist
Corey DiMario
Corey is a masculine given name and a surname. It is a masculine version of name Cora, which has Greek origins and is the maiden name of the goddess Persephone. The name also can have origins from the Gaelic word ''coire'', which means "in a caul ...
, cellist
Tristan Clarridge
Tristan (Latin/Brythonic: ''Drustanus''; cy, Trystan), also known as Tristram or Tristain and similar names, is the hero of the legend of Tristan and Iseult. In the legend, he is tasked with escorting the Irish princess Iseult to wed T ...
and fiddler
Brittany Haas. They are known for their high energy, technical skill, unusual instrumentation, and innovative acoustic style.
The string band's style has been described as
progressive bluegrass,
folk-country
''Folk-Country'' is the major-label debut album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released in 1966 on RCA Victor. It is his first collaboration with producer Chet Atkins.
Background
According to the book ''Outlaw: Waylon, Willie ...
, and
Americana. O'Donovan states that the band is playing its "own sort of continuation" on the bluegrass tradition that began in the U.S. with
Bill Monroe and
Jimmy Martin
James Henry Martin (August 10, 1927 – May 14, 2005) was an American bluegrass musician, known as the "King of Bluegrass".
Early years
Martin was born in Sneedville, Tennessee, United States, and was raised in the hard farming life of rural ...
.
History
2001–2008
O'Donovan and DiMario met at the
New England Conservatory of Music in
Boston,
Massachusetts in the spring of 2001. Former member
Rushad Eggleston
Rushad Robert Eggleston (born September 30, 1979) is an American cellist, composer, jazz vocalist, & performer. Eggleston's music can be eccentric, with many references to fantasy and goblins. Eggleston is known for inventing words, and for hi ...
, who was studying cello at
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...
, and Liszt, a graduate student at
MIT, were playing music together around the same time, and when the four met that summer, they formed a band that became Crooked Still. While its members finished school, the group played various Boston venues, growing in popularity and collecting favorable reviews from the local press.
Crooked Still went on to appear at concert halls, festivals, coffeehouses, and nightclubs in 23 states and several countries. On August 22, 2006, the group released their second album, ''Shaken by a Low Sound''.
From 2008
Cellist Rushad Eggleston performed his last show with the band on November 18, 2007, at the
Iron Horse in
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571.
Northampton is known as an acade ...
. He parted ways with Crooked Still to pursue his own music with band
Tornado Rider. In January 2008 two new members joined the band: cellist Tristan Clarridge and fiddler Brittany Haas, both of whom have toured in
Darol Anger's
Republic of Strings
Darol Anger is an American violinist and founding member of The David Grisman Quintet.
Career
Darol Anger entered popular music at the age of 21 as a founding member of The David Grisman Quintet. Anger played fiddle to David Grisman's mandolin ...
. The Darol Anger connection goes further: Rushad Eggleston was in Fiddlers 4 in 2002. The band released its first album with the new lineup, ''
Still Crooked
''Still Crooked'' is the third album by progressive bluegrass group Crooked Still. At the end of 2007 Rushad Eggleston parted ways with the group and was replaced by Tristan Clarridge, cellist of Darol Anger's Republic of Strings. Brittany Haas, 5 ...
'' in 2008, a live album in 2009, and ''Some Strange Country'' in 2010.
2011 and beyond
In honor of their tenth anniversary together as a band, Crooked Still embarked on a major tour of the Northeast and the Pacific Northwest, and released a 7-song EP called ''Friends of Fall'' in October 2011.
After the final show of their 2011 tour, Crooked Still took a three-year touring and recording hiatus (originally planned to be one year) for its members to pursue other musical projects.
Crooked Still performed at the FreshGrass festival in North Adams, Massachusetts, in September 2017.
In June 2018, Crooked Still songs "
Little Sadie" and "Ecstasy" were featured in the gameplay trailer for ''
The Last of Us Part II'' presented at
E3 2018. These songs, along with "
Ain't No Grave" were included in the final game.
Discography
Albums
Live albums
Music videos
References
External links
{{Authority control
American folk musical groups
American bluegrass music groups
Old-time bands
Musical groups from Boston
Progressive bluegrass music groups
Signature Sounds artists