The Cedar Presents PERT NEAR SANDSTONE’S WINTER STRINGBAND GATHERING with Hackensaw Boys

It was roughly a decade ago that Pert Near Sandstone first gathered around a microphone in a Minneapolis basement to record their debut album, 'Up And Down The River.' So much has happened since then: highs and lows, personal struggles and artistic triumphs, new faces and new sounds. The winding road they've traveled over the years makes it all the more meaningful for the band to come full circle on their dazzling new release, 'Discovery Of Honey,' which finds them once again recording in a basement and reuniting with founding member Ryan Young, who's spent the past seven years touring the world playing fiddle with bluegrass stars Trampled By Turtles.

Roots music shapeshifters Hackensaw Boys make a triumphant return with their new self-titled album due out in June. Known for their energetic live shows, the band have been operating as a sort of musical collective for over two decades now, carving a songline that traverses all genres of American roots music. They’ve toured nearly constantly, playing festivals all over the world, sharing stages with the likes of De La Soul and Cheap Trick, and even working as Charlie Louvin’s touring band. They’ve been featured on NPR and Pitchfork, where Amanda Petrusich aptly described their music as a “grassy tornado with brazen punk attitude”. Through it all they’ve adapted their sound, as well as their lineup, to serve their songs with a workman-like ethic. It was during the recording and release of their last EP A Fireproof House Of Sunshine (Free Dirt Records) that David Sickmen realized he was doing his best work. This motivated him to “stay out of his own way” during the making of their new self-titled album, a free-wheeling romp through roots music that includes hardcore roots instrumentals, country rug-cutters, and folk rock gems. Produced by Park Chisolm (Kevin Costner & Modern West), Hackensaw Boys is chock full of classic, catchy Hackensaw sounds while achieving a new level of unapologetic honesty and vulnerability via Sickmen’s well-honed, salt-of-the-earth songwriting.