The Minnesota-based band Trampled by Turtles has been around since 2003, apparently, but they didn’t get on my radar until this year, with the release of their fifth original LP, Palomino. It’s fantastic.
TBT is five crunchy, bearded dudes who play acoustic instruments ranging from banjo to mandolin, and their live shows are beloved by the jam band crowd. If that alone is enough to send you fleeing, well, go ahead and flee.
The good news is that they don’t seem particularly interested in reverent recreation of traditional genres. There’s definitely a bluegrass flavor, along with others bits and pieces of Americana, but it all comes off as fresh, forward-looking, and energetic. (In this they are quite reminiscent of The Avett Brothers, though less stylistically diverse.)
Their lives shows are supposedly something to behold. You can download a bunch of them for free here. This song is called “Help You.”
