The Kruger Brothers have been a fixture on the folk and Americana circuit for the past ten years – since they moved to the US from their native Switzerland in 1997.

Jens Kruger in particular has established himself as one of the most technically advanced banjo players in the history of the five string, and his brother Uwe is no slouch on the guitar. With bassist Joel Landsberg, they perform regularly as a trio all over the world.

The Krugers make their home now in North Wilkesboro, NC, not far from the annual Merlefest site. They have immersed themselves in the traditional music and culture of the Appalachian region, and their original tunes show how they have incorporated themes of their new home into the lush and complex instrumental music they compose.

Despite their demonstrated virtuosity, they have not received the same sort of acclaim in bluegrass circles as they have elsewhere. But that may be about to change.

Staring this weekend at the Carolina in the Fall festival, which they host in North Wilkesboro, The Kruger Brothers will unveil a more accessible, familiar sound featuring a couple of bluegrass heavyweights. Mandolinist Adam Steffey will be on hand and may do a number of future dates as his schedule allows.

“I’ve gone down to Wilkesboro a couple of times in the past month or so just to jam a little with the Krugers. They are talking about booking a few shows next year as an aside to their regular shows, with an emphasis on some more traditional sounding tunes. My involvement in this is totally contingent upon my schedule with Dan Tyminski. I may be able to do a few dates with them, or none. It’s really too soon to tell.

It’s a blast playing with them, though, because not only are they all superior musicians, they are the nicest guys you’d ever want to meet.”

Also on hand this weekend will be fiddle legend Bobby Hicks, who will also join the Krugers on stage.

“I’m working the festival with them this weekend, and I’m doing a couple things in Florida next year. I’m not a regular member of their band as of yet. But you never know what might happen.

They are some awesome musicians.”

Let’s hope someone records the shows.

HT: Ted Lehmann

The Kruger Brothers, a North Carolina based bluegrass band anchored by two brothers from Switzerland, recently played a show with the oldest community orchestra in the country, the Bangor Symphony Orchestra in Bangor, Maine, conducted by a Chinese man.

Sounds strange I know, but from what I’ve read it was a very successful show. The show was billed as Music from the Spring: A Romantic Serenade for Banjo, Guitar, Bass & Orchestra. Joel Landsberg described the show as “the Kruger Brothers with a very big backup band.”

The Bangor Daily News ran a story reviewing the show recently. It seems there were some technical difficulties during the first part of the show that lead the banjo not being heard, imagine that if you can! After the difficulties were straitened out, the show went very well according to the reviewer.

It’s always exciting to see bluegrass taken to new audiences and see the genre’s base widened without sacrificing the integrity of the music’s core. I think The Kruger Brothers are successfully doing so. Keep up the good work guys!

I was cruising around the Renaissance Hotel about 2:00 in the morning on Wednesday night looking for something cool.  Somebody introduced me to Mike Bucayu outside of the conference room on the second floor where Mountain Home records was showcasing their artists.  Mike’s wife came out of the room and told him that Michael Cleveland was playing with the Kruger Brothers in the conference room.  Having sat in a suite several years ago in Louisville for many hours witnessing a similar event, I knew this would be a hot one. 

I walked in the room and the music was on fire.  The setting was great with a nice lighted stage and a good sound system.  They were jamming on some tune that I did not recognize, but Michael and Jens were trading breaks back and forth for about ten minutes.  Mike Bucayu had said to me "Jens Kruger is the only person that I have seen that can make Michael sweat."  What an apt description!  The breaks that these two traded were incredible.  Musical ideas were put out there which pushed the limits of credibility and each successive break seemed more impressive than the last.  After this song finally ended, they went into a more laid back blues type of number with vocals.  By the end, Jens had the audience singing along on the choruses.  Somewhere in there they wore out the Cherokee Shuffle and I remember them ending with an astounding version of Sally Goodin.  Not to be overlooked were the incredible guitar breaks by Uwe.  It is truly amazing how fast and clean these guys can play.  They really were "wearing it out."

Some high profile players, including Noam Pikelny, were in the audience.  I got the impression that they were as amazed as I was.  The showcases were supposed to end at about 2:00, but this one went on until more like 3:30.  Yup, this was one for the highlights.