Word comes from Crooked Still that cellist, and founding member Rushad Eggleston will be leaving the band in November.

Perhaps serving as a testament to his unique abilities as both a musician and a performer, the band will be bringing in two players to fill his spot. Tristan Clarridge on cello and Brittany Haas on fiddle will join the band after Rushad’s last show on November 18, and will begin rehearsals for a new Crooked Still project which starts recording in January ‘08.

Clarridge has made a name for himself as both a fiddler and a cellist, and has been touring of late with Darol Anger and Republic Of Strings. Haas has also served in Anger’s Republic, and among her many performance credits, has been touring with Tony Trischka’s Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular shows - all while still in college.

No word yet as to what Rushad’s plans may be post-Crooked Still, nor a reason for his departure. Perhaps the rest of the band wasn’t ready to go quite so far as he in the envelope-pushing department, as evidenced by this recent photo of Eggleston with his own indelicately named trio, The Butt-Wizards.

Crooked Still has just a few dates in the northeast with Rushad, and you can expect him to go out with a bang.