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Railroad Earth (USA)

Within our roster we have amazing acts... and this one well .. how can we describe this boundless bands music and stage prescence , let's have the band tell you ... booking exclusively UK/Ireland and taking enquiries around Europe .. and beyond .. well just ask ...

There's a great scene in The Last Waltz - the documentary about The Band's final concert - where director Martin Scorsese is discussing music with drummer/singer/mandolin player Levon Helm. Helm says, "If it mixes with rhythm, and if it dances, then you've got a great combination of all those different kinds of music: country, bluegrass, blues music, show music..." To which Scorsese, the inquisitive interviewer, asks, "What's it called, then? Rock & roll?!" Clearly looking for a more specific answer, but realizing that he isn't going to get one, Marty laughs. "Rock & roll..." Well, that's the way it is sometimes: musicians play music, and don't necessarily worry about where it gets filed. It's the writers, record labels, managers, etc., who tend to fret about what "kind" of music it is.

And like The Band, the members of Railroad Earth aren't losing sleep about what "kind" of music they play - they just play it. When they started out in 2001, they were a bunch of guys interested in playing acoustic instruments together. That was the beginning of Railroad Earth's journey: since those early days, they've gone on to release five more critically acclaimed studio albums and one hugely popular live one called, "Elko." They've also amassed a huge and loyal fanbase who turn up to support them in every corner of the country, "We use unique acoustic instrumentation, but we're definitely not a bluegrass or country band, which sometimes leaves music writers confused as to how to categorize us. We're essentially playing rock on acoustic instruments."

So: they can jam with the best of them and they have some bluegrass influences, but they use drums and amplifiers (somewhat taboo in the bluegrass world). What kind of music is it then? Mandolin/vocalist John Skehan offers this semi-descriptive term: "I always describe it as a string band, but an amplified string band with drums." Tim Carbone takes a swing: "We're a Country & Eastern band! " Todd Sheaffer offers "A souped-up string band? I don't know. I'm not good at this." Or, as a great drummer/singer/mandolin player with an appreciation for Americana once said: "Rock & roll!"

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