Crooked Still is an alternative bluegrass band that combined banjo, cello and double bass.
In the spring of 2001, vocalist Aoife O’Donovan and bassist Corey DiMario were classmates at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. In the meantime, just across the river in the laboratories of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in Cambridge, a young cellist named Rushad Eggleston from the Berklee College of Music met every night to jam with Greg Liszt, then a graduate student and aspiring four-finger banjo player. A random meeting at a late-night party brought all four of these musicians together for the first time and Crooked Still was born in the summer of that year.
Their acoustic fusion transformed traditional American tunes without losing authenticity. “It’s almost like we’re going back and making imaginary history ” said Eggleston.
As its members finished school, Crooked Still regularly performed around Boston, gaining a great reputation and growing its fan base.
Hop High (Signature Sounds Recordings 2005) the debut album from Crooked Still was released at the prestigious Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in July 2004 and was the top-selling CD at the festival that year. Following the success of this first festival appearance Crooked Still appeared at concert halls nightclubs coffeehouses and festivals in many American states and three different countries.
In 2007, Rushad Eggleston left the band and one year later two new musicians joined the band, Tristan Clarridge (cello) and Brittany Haas (fiddle).
The ensemble took a 3-year sabbatical in 2011.
Discography:
Hop High (Signature Sounds Recordings, 2005)
Shaken by a Low Sound (Signature Sounds Recordings, 2006)
Still Crooked (Signature Sounds Recordings, 2008)
Crooked Still Live (Signature Sounds Recordings, 2009)
Some Strange Country (Signature Sounds Recordings, 2010)
Friends of Fall (Signature Sounds Recordings, 2011)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
