What…? Another young bluegrass band in Boston formed when they met as Berklee students? Who ever heard of such a thing!
Twisted Pine isn’t actually a completely new band. They’ve been around long enough to have won the FreshGrass and Thomas Point Beach band contests in 2014, but not a whole lot longer.
The band consists of Dan Bui on mandolin, Ricky Mier on banjo, Kathleen Parks on fiddle, Chris Sartori on bass, and Rachel Sumner on guitar.
Here’s their latest video, featuring their live take on the Bill Monroe classic, Roanoke. While Big Mon cut this one with triple fiddles kicking it off, Twin Pines goes with the banjo – following the obligatory mandolin riff, of course. After the first time around, each of the soloists start working off the simple changes with only the barest association with the original melody, in a manner that became quite popular in the 1970s, not ironically, among educated string players from the northeast.
See what you think…
The band is currently working in an artist development arrangement with the Signature Sounds label in nearby Northampton, MA, the same company that has brought successful alternative groups like Crooked Still and Lake Street Dive to the fore.
Let’s hope there is a new project from Twisted Pine in the near future.
