Friday night I met up with some friends to see Al Scorch & The Country Soul Ensemble at Arnold’s. I had previously heard a few of Al Scorch’s songs but I was in no way prepared for the bluegrass ass-kicking that I received. I walked in just as the five piece band was getting ready to take a set break, but fortunately I had plenty of time to spare so I stuck around for their entire second set.

I squeezed in next to my group of friends that had arrived early to get a table in the back covered courtyard. There were very few empty seats to be had and quite a few people were stuck standing in the back. It seems that my friends weren’t the only ones who had already discovered this up and coming act.

Their sound is very much bluegrass but a quick Google search also describes them as country-punk-folk-bluegrass, which seems like a fitting description. Al is quite a master of the five string banjo, and the band was equally as talented. I couldn’t find much information on the band members but they were playing upright bass, acoustic guitar, percussion (including an awesome washboard), and violin.

The band is based out of Chicago, but seems to be making an appearance in Cincinnati every few months. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for Al and his band this spring. For now I’ll be enjoying this recording from the Daytrotter Studio.