Roots music shapeshifters Hackensaw Boys have been making audiences holler and dance since way back in 1999. Formed in Charlottesville and now based in Lynchburg, Virginia, this hard traveling group has built an international following for their high-energy performances and down-to-earth presentation. Despite their roots in traditional music, their homegrown aesthetic (bolstered by the “charismo,” their calling card percussion instrument handmade from cans and other metal objects) belies their contemporary approach to songcraft and showmanship. Hackensaw Boys’ music today has just as much in common with the straight-ahead sound of the Del McCoury Band as it does with the indie rock of Pavement and the modern folk of the Avett Brothers and Mountain Goats. Their most recent LPs merge an old timey sonic palette with a folk-punk sensibility, with poignant lyricism, focused arrangements, and a deep groove all held together by bluegrass chops. Coming out swinging after the pandemic release of A Fireproof House Of Sunshine and 2022’s Hackensaw Boys, they’ve brought this sound on tour dates all across the US, Canada, and Europe, including appearances at ROMP Music Festival, Paaspop (Netherlands), and Tønder Festival (Denmark).
Hackensaw Boys are currently gearing up to celebrate the 20th anniversary of one of their most beloved albums. Love What You Do was released in August 2005 on Nettwerk Records. Compiled from sessions that took place in Charlottesville, San Francisco, and Amsterdam amid constant touring, so many of its cuts remain fan favorites to this day. “Sun’s Work Undone” and “Alabama Shamrock” showcase the band’s more delicate side with spacious instrumentation and enigmatic lyrics about love and longing. “Kiss You Down There” still gets requested at virtually every show, and “We Are Many” continues to be perfect fodder for the group’s electrifying encores. The latter, with its foot-stomping rhythm and shout-along chorus, has come to exemplify what many people love most about seeing the band live: that a Hackensaw Boys show isn’t a bluegrass show, it’s a rock and roll show played on banjo and fiddle with all the spirit of a hoedown.