Druhá Tráva is a

Czech bluegrass Czech bluegrass is Czech interpretations of bluegrass music that emerged during the middle of the twentieth century in the southeastern United States. The music's history and performance in the Czech lands, however, make it more than simple examp ...

band originally formed in Czechoslovakia in 1991 by Robert Křesťan and Luboš Malina. As of 2021, they have released thirteen studio albums, four live albums, two compilations, as well as a number of side projects. They have been described as evolving from underground musicians who subverted Communism to international artists who "upend convention".

History

Robert Křesťan and bluegrass inspiration

The

genre developed in the mid-1960s, influenced by American

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Bluegrass has roots in African America ...

. A regional tour by

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

in 1964 was a particular inspiration to Czech musicians. allmusic.com biography of Druhá Tráva retrieved 7 March 2013 The

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

was hostile to such music, and Czech musicians with Western folk and rock influences helped advocate for the country's eventual independence. Singer-songwriter and mandolinist Robert Křesťan had been a fan of American roots music since the late 1960s, listening to records that had been smuggled into the country. Křesťan was particularly fond of bluegrass pioneer

Bill Monroe William Smith Monroe ( ; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre takes its n ...

. Křesťan went to great pains to find records and learned how to play the music on homemade instruments. He joined the band

Poutníci Poutníci is a Czech bluegrass ensemble, heavily influential in the second wave of the genre. The group formed in 1970; its lead singer and bassist Jiri Pola has been with the group since 1981. In 1989 and 1990, the group was awarded the Best No ...

in 1979.

Formation of Druhá Tráva and early albums: 1991–1995

Křesťan and another member of Poutníci, banjo player Luboš Malina, formed Druhá Tráva in 1991. The band's original lineup also included

dobro Dobro () is an American brand of resonator guitars owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally a gui ...

player and guitarist Luboš Novotný, bassist Jiří Meisner, and guitarist Pavel Malina. The group's configuration has changed considerably over its history, though Křesťan, Malina, and Novotný have been in the band consistently since 1991. They released their debut album, ''Robert Křesťan & Druhá Tráva'', in 1991, and followed up a year later with ''Revival'', sung entirely in English. ''Starodávný svět'' came out in 1994 and for their fourth album, the band invited singer Pavlína Jíšová to join in the recording.

Lineup changes, new recordings, and breakup: 1997–2001

In 1997, guitarist Pavel Malina left Druhá Tráva and was replaced by Martin Ledvina. The group subsequently released three studio albums in one year: ''Pohlednice'', ''New Freedom Bell'' (a collaboration with American bluegrass musician

Peter Rowan Peter Rowan (born July 4, 1942) is an American bluegrass musician and composer. He plays guitar, fiddle, dobro, banjo, bass, piano and mandolin. He has a wide vocal range and yodels. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall o ...

), and ''Czechmate''. A year later, in 2000, they toured the United States. During this period, the ensemble experienced a frequent turnover of drummers, which included Štěpán Smetáček and Miloš Dvořáček. Bass player Jiří Meisner departed and was replaced by Juraj Griglák, and the group released their first compilation record, a double album titled ''Best & Last'', in 2001. The same year, Druhá Tráva announced that they were breaking up.

Reunion and recent releases: 2004–2007

In 2004, Druhá Tráva reformed, with some lineup changes. Křesťan, Malina, and Novotný were joined by double bass player Petr Surý (replaced in 2010 by Tomáš Liška) and guitarist Emil Formánek. Also in 2004, they published their eighth studio album, the English-language ''Good Morning, Friend''. They followed it a year later with the live recording ''Live in Brno'', a collaboration with

Charlie McCoy Charlie McCoy (born Charles Ray McCoy, March 28, 1941) is an American harmonica virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist in country music. He is best known for his harmonica solos on iconic recordings such as " Candy Man" ( Roy Orbison), "He Stoppe ...

. In 2007, Druhá Tráva worked with a number of musicians, including

Jan Vyčítal Jan Vyčítal (8 March 1942 – 1 March 2020) was a Czech country music singer and songwriter. He was founding member of Greenhorns (band), Greenhorns. He also drew the cover art for many albums. Vyčítal was born in Prague, Protectorate of Bohe ...

, Wabi Daněk, Kateřina García, Pavel Bobek, Pavlína Jíšová, Charlie McCoy, and Ondřej Konrád on an album of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

covers, titled ''Dylanovky''.

Further releases: 2008–present

Druhá Tráva has continued to tour and record to the present day. They released ''Marcipán z Toleda'' in 2011, ''Shuttle to Bethlehem'' in 2011, ''Pojd'me se Napít'' in 2013, and most recently, ''Díl první'', which came out in 2020. Their current lineup includes guitarist Radek Hlávka, bassist Tomáš Liška, and drummer Martin Novák.

Side projects

Members of Druhá Tráva have worked on their own solo projects and collaborations with other artists over the years. Robert Křesťan, Luboš Malina, and Luboš Novotný have all released solo albums; Malina formed Garcia with Kateřina García in 2006, a group that also includes former Druhá Tráva drummer David Landštof.

Recognition

Druhá Tráva has toured internationally and performed with

Ricky Skaggs Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ma ...

Davy Spillane Davy Spillane (born 1959 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish musician, songwriter and a player of uilleann pipes and low whistle. Biography Irish music At the age of 12, Spillane started playing the uilleann pipes. His father encouraged him ...

, and

Béla Fleck Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, playing music from bluegrass, jazz, classical, rock and various ...

, among others. The band's international appearances have attracted attention for their ability to master many different genres and eras of American roots music. Their 1999 album, ''Czechmate'', was their first to be released in the United States and gained attention from international critics for its covers of jazz standards, opera numbers, and

Appalachian folk Appalachian music is the music of the region of Appalachia in the Eastern United States. Traditional Appalachian music is derived from various influences, including the ballads, hymns and fiddle music of the British Isles (particularly Scotland), ...

songs. Several of their later albums were released by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

and

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

. The band has won numerous awards throughout their career, several of them from the

Czech Academy of Popular Music Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

. This includes their 1999

Anděl Award Andel or Anděl may refer to: * Andel, Netherlands, a village in the municipality of Altena * Angel Award (Czech music) (Czech: ''cena Anděl'') * Anděl (neighborhood), a part of the Czech capital Prague * Anděl (Prague Metro), a metro station in ...

in the Folk & Country category. Since the beginning of their career, the group has faced criticism for their mix of

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

and Central European influences.

Band members

Current * Robert Křesťan – vocals, mandolin, guitar * Luboš Malina – banjo, clarinet, saxophone,

Irish whistle The tin whistle, also known as the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, a class of instrument which also includes the recorder and Native American flute. A tin whistle player is called a whistler ...

, backing vocals * Luboš Novotný – dobro,

lap steel The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of play ...

, backing vocals * Radek Hlávka – guitar, backing vocals * Tomáš Liška – double bass, bass guitar * Martin Novák – drums, percussion,

cajón A cajón ( ; "box, crate, drawer") is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front or rear faces (generally thin plywood) with the hands, fingers, or sometimes implements such as brushes, mallets, or st ...

Past * Petr Surý – bass * Stanislav Paluch – violin * Michal Vavro – guitar * Martin Ledvina – guitar, mandolin, backing vocals * Juraj Griglák – bass * Jiří Meisner – bass, backing vocals * Pavel Malina – guitar * Štěpán Smetáček – drums, percussion * Miloš Dvořáček – drums, percussion * Emil Formánek – guitar, mandolin * David Landštof – drums, percussion * Kamil Slezák – drums, percussion

Discography

These are albums released under the names Druhá Tráva or Robert Křesťan & Druhá Tráva. Several members of the band have released solo albums, with assistance from various permutations of the Druhá Tráva lineup.

Studio albums

* ''Robert Křesťan a Druhá Tráva'' (1991) * ''Revival'' (1992) * ''Starodávný svět'' (1994) * ''Druhá Tráva s Pavlínou Jíšovou'' (1995) * ''Pohlednice'' (1999) * ''New Freedom Bell'' (with

, 1999) * ''Czechmate'' (1999) * ''Good Morning, Friend'' (2004) * ''Dylanovky'' (2007) * ''Marcipán z Toleda'' (2011) * ''Shuttle to Bethlehem'' (2011) * ''Pojd'me se Napít'' (2013) * ''Díl první'' (2020)

Live albums

* ''Live'' (1997) * ''Live in Brno'' (with

, 2005) * ''Živě v Telči'' (2012) * ''In Concert'' (DVD – 2015)

Compilations

* ''Best & Last'' (2-CD, 2001) * ''16 nej od táborových ohňů'' (2008)

Side projects

* Luboš Novotný – ''Radost zarmoucených'' (1995) * Luboš Malina – ''Naper se a pukni!'' (1995) * Luboš Malina – ''Piece of Cake'' (1999) * Luboš Novotný – ''Venku z trávy'' (2000) * Robert Křesťan – ''1775 básní Emily Dickinsonové'' (2002) * Luboš Malina – ''Afterparty'' (2004) * Luboš Malina & Martin Fridrich – ''Dueling Fingers'' (2005)

Selected awards

* Annual Czechoslovak Music Award (1991) *

– Folk & Country (1999)

References

External links

*
Official US website

Compass Records artist page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Druha Trava Czech folk music groups Czech bluegrass music groups Musical groups established in 1991 1991 establishments in Czechoslovakia Musical groups reestablished in 2004