Aoife O'Donovan and Gregory Liszt of "Crooked Still" in our studio

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When Crooked Still formed in 2001, it was a band of twenty-somethings from the Boston conservatory scene playing a genre-bending blend of bluegrass and folk. Critics raved about the sound of young Americans reinterpreting old Appalachian tunes.

Now, seven years later, with world tours under their belt and a recent overhaul of their lineup, they’re a little older, a little wiser — and every bit as innovative. Bluegrass and folk, pop and blues, maybe even jazz. They play mountain music from an old-time era, polished with percussive banjo-beats and an ethereal voice.

With us today we’ve got Crooked Still’s banjo player, their fiddler, and their singer-guitarist to put their sound in our ears.

This hour, On Point: breakout bluegrass innovators, Crooked Still.

-Jane Clayson, guest host

Guests:

Aoife O’Donovan, lead singer and founding member of Crooked Still.

Gregory Liszt, banjo player and founding member of Crooked Still. In 2006, he toured with Bruce Springsteen as a member of the Seeger Sessions Band.

Brittany Haas, fiddler for Crooked Still.

Links & Multimedia:

Crooked Still’s official website tells the band’s story and has all the information you could want on tour dates and recordings.

Double-bass player Corey DiMario’s blog, “Play the Bass, Drive the Bus,” has a big selection of videos from Crooked Still’s performances.

This is Crooked Still performing “Captain, Captain” (also heard in today’s show) from a recent show at the Basement in Nashville:

And here they are performing “Undone in Sorrow” at the Basement: