GANGSTAGRASS
Bluegrass + Rap Sensation
Tickets: $30 General Admission / $28 Advance / $50 Gold Circle
Location: GE Theatre at Proctors
“Fuses string instruments with hip-hop artists, resulting in arguably the best argument yet for a rap and country music marriage
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“Smashes every borderline, every genre, every preconceived idea of what a bluegrass hip-hop fusion might sound like
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Yeah, Gangstagrass did the theme song to Justified. Yeah, Rench and T.O.N.E-z got nominated for an Emmy for it. Yeah, this is real bluegrass pickers and real emcees making music. And yeah, we do it live too.
Rench: vocals/guitar/beats
Dan Whitener: banjo/vocals
Brian Farrow: Fiddle
R-Son The Voice of Reason: vocals
Dolio The Sleuth: vocals
When FX Network came to Rench looking for the Gangstagrass sound for the theme song to their new series “Justified,” he had bluegrass players lay down an original track with rapper T.O.N.E-z, the younger brother of early hip-hop legends Special K and T-LaRoc. The result was "Long Hard Times To Come," the song that opened every episode of six seasons of the hit series. "Long Hard Times To Come" was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2010, contending for best theme song after critical praise and massive fan response.
The same live bluegrass band approach was used to make Lightning On The Strings, Thunder On The Mic, a full length album with T.O.N.E-z, the emcee featured on the “Justified” theme song. Two years later the Gangstagrass sound was expanded with the release of Rappalachia, a 15-song album featuring a variety of rappers, including Kool Keith, Dead Prez, Nitty Scott MC, T.O.N.E-z, BROOKLYN35, R-SON, and Dolio The Sleuth. Country singers Brandi Hart from the Dixie Bee-Liners and Jen Larson added gritty harmonies alongside Rench’s choruses. Broken Hearts and Stolen Money was released in 2014. Featuring performances by legendary rap team Smif-N-Wessun, Juno award winning rapper Liquid (of BranVan 3000), Brandi Hart of the Dixie Bee-Liners and Alexa Dirks of Chic Gamine in addition to the now regular crew of emcees and pickers, the album received universal critical acclaim including the Boston Globe labeling the raucus single “Two Yards” - “Essential.” A fourth official album titled American Music was released in April 2015. Featuring a collection of standout original cuts and traditional folk anthems the band once again broke new ground, while also paying tribute to their cast of American songwriting heroes, and debuted at #5 on the Billboard bluegrass charts.
Gangstagrass has toured internationally, blowing minds on main stages from SXSW to Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, a live stage act taking full advantage of the improvisational aspects of both hip-hop and bluegrass. With two emcees R-Son and Dolio The Sleuth trading verses, Dan Whitener on Banjo, Landry McMeans on dobro, and Rench on guitar, and frequent 3-part harmonies, the Gangstagrass live show has garnered a reputation among fans for its dynamism and spontanaity. Currently touring across the US, Gangstagrass is using live performances to organically develop new material for an album that will further explode the boundaries between genres generally thought to be incompatible.