Las Vegas Sun

April 26, 2024

MUSIC:

‘Newgrass’ via old RV

The Montana Slim String Band is putting miles on its new-to-them motor home.

The San Francisco “newgrass” band bought a 1978 Dodge Pace Arrow for its first national tour, which stops at the Aruba Hotel on Saturday.

“The RV seems pretty solid,” band founder Jesse Dunn says. “We bought it from a classic car mechanic and he kept it very nice. But it is 31 years old.”

The band is promoting its first album, “Slim Pickins.” The lineup includes Dunn on rhythm guitar, Brent McClain on mandolin, Sean Duerr on lead acoustic guitar, Turi Hoiseth on fiddle and Dave Lockhart on upright bass.

They found a common musical thread in the acoustic collaborations of guitarist Jerry Garcia and mandolinist David Grisman.

“That’s where most of us got our interest in bluegrass,” Dunn says. “Bluegrass is making a comeback. Groups like the Old Crow Medicine Show and Yonder Mountain String Band are doing well. I think there’s a movement back to acoustic music in general.”

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