URBAN MONROES
www.urbanmonroes.com
Fast paced and
highly energetic, the band performs both original and
traditional bluegrass with a style and delivery uniquely its
own.
Fashioned
from the heart of tradition and infused with adrenaline, the
Urban Monroes’ contemporary bluegrass style is an outgrowth of
the combined skills of some of the Pacific Northwest’s finest
talent. As individuals
the Urban Monroes have earned bluegrass instrument
championships, a National Endowment for the Arts award and
songwriting accolades. They have been featured on the Emmy award
winning PBS series Art Beat and their musical experiences have
taken them around the world. As a band they have excited
audiences from some of bluegrass’ biggest venues with a fully
charged stage presence and an intricate delivery.
Like the band’s name itself, the music is a combination of the traditional and the original with each influencing the other. Bluegrass has the ability to be sledge hammer hard, technically intricate, highly arranged and spontaneously explosive all at the same time and that’s the energy the band wants to capture.
Urban
Monroes take their name from “the Father of Bluegrass,” Bill
Monroe who, in the late 1930’s, developed a style of music
that drew upon his entire musical experience. The Kentuckian
Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys established what became to be
known as bluegrass, and though the same influences that molded
that sound would also give birth to both modern country and
rock music, Monroe’s style was uniquely his own.
All the
founders of bluegrass were innovators. Each band’s sound was
original in its own way, but each stayed true to the framework
established in the genre’s infancy. This is what the Urban
Monroes are attempting to do as well.
“Our goal
is to create new music within that framework. We are taking
what could be considered the language and vocabulary of
bluegrass and telling our own story with it rather than
reciting by rote all that has been said before. Put more
simply, it could be said that the band is putting a new spin
on traditional material and a traditional spin on new
material.”
The Urban
Monroes have three full-length CD’s that have met with
critical acclaim in the press.
Not claiming for ourselves the genius of our musical predecessors, we only attempt to pay homage to them through our own version of their vision.
“Passionately executed,
high flying fun” -The Oregonian
“Vocally
and instrumentally exciting album suitable for
a broad range of listeners”
-The Statesman Journal
“Honest like a hard day’s
work and tasty like cold beverage at the end
of that day” -The Columbian
“Their musical savvy and obvious ability
make their albums compelling listens”
-Goldmine Magazine
"With
a panoramic view through inspiring originals and a
driving rootsy style unrelentingly their own, Pavement
and Pathways is a joyride down the Appalachian Trail's
fast lane. " -The Fireball Mail
-"Timeless
bluegrass with doses of the contemporary integrated
into a fully formed sound. Gorgeous, powerful vocal
style and chart topping originals like "When The
Aspens Turn" make for an album rich in dynamic
bluegrass performance."
-Americana UK