Poor Man's Poison is an American

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

band from Hanford, California. The band was originally formed in 2009; after a hiatus in 2014, they reformed in 2019, this time more focused on releasing studio singles rather than producing albums or performing live. Mostly defined by their acoustic sound, they have been categorized as various genres, including folk, Americana, country, rock, and pop; bassist Dustin Medeiros claimed that they "cannot be pinned down in one specific category".

History

Ryan Hakker and Dustin Medeiros were friends since

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

, and had both been friends with Tommy McCarthy since

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. A previous band Done For Good, included Hakker as singer, Medeiros as drummer, and McCarthy as guitarist. Done For Good came to an end after releasing a single album, due to Medeiros develloping permanent tinnitus, which made him unable to play drums or "any excessively loud music". As a result, Hakker, Medeiros, and McCarthy, joined by guitarist Mike Jacobs, whom had known Hakker and Medeiros since high school and worked with Hakker in previous bands, and formed Poor Man's Poison in 2009, with McCarthy switching to the mandolin and Medeiros to the double bass. They released three studio albums and one live album at the Fox Theatre in Hanford between 2009 and 2014, before temporarily splitting up. When the band got back together in 2019, they decided to focus on releasing singles instead of full albums due to their success on streaming platforms. In September 2012, Poor Man's Poison won the "Best New Act in Country Music" at the

Country Showdown The Country Showdown is an annual talent contest to find undiscovered country music singers across the United States. As many as 100,000 acts compete in the Country Showdown annually, which is considered to be the largest country music talent com ...

in Nashville. They have also performed at Guantanamo Bay for US troops and opened for the

Charlie Daniels Band Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock music, rock, country music, country, blues and jazz, pioneering Southern rock. He was best known for his numb ...

Band members

* Ryan Hakker –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

, guitar * Michael Jacobs – guitar, backing vocal * Tommy McCarthy –

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

, backing vocals * Dustin Medeiros –

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

, backing vocals

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Poor Man's Poison'' (2009) * ''Friends with the Enemy'' (2011) * ''Providence'' (2014)

EPs

*''In the End'' (2021) * ''The Great Big Lie'' (2023)

Live albums

* ''Live at the Fox'' (2012)

Singles

* [Hell's Coming With Me" (2019) * "Let Us All Down" (2020) * "Feed the Machine" (2020) * "Every Day is Exactly the Same" (2021)

References

{{reflist Musical groups from California American folk musical groups American bluegrass music groups