We're pleased as punch to announce that we're currently promoting the new album from Portland bluegrass kings Jackstraw. These guys developed the Northwest old-time roots sound and their new album is a magnificent return to form. Check 'em out:



The muddy Willamette River that runs through Portland, Oregon, may not be as famous as the mighty Mississippi, but it forms the border of a new form of American roots music, informed both by the traditions of the American South and the rainy woods of the Northwest. Portland bluegrass band Jackstraw has been the flagship of this movement since they formed in 1997. They know their bluegrass history and don’t hesitate to pay homage to their heroes, like the Stanley Brothers, but this ain’t your standard bluegrass band. These boys have a cutting edge take on bluegrass picking that they’ve developed over years of touring the United States, and their original songs can sound as much country as old-time.

Jackstraw are currently celebrating the release of their brand-new sixth album, Sunday Never Comes. The album features brand-new member Cory Goldman (Water Tower Bucket Boys) on banjo, and all original material. Principal songwriters Darrin Craig and David Pugh have built new songs drenched in history and dusty nostalgia, and honed from fifteen years of making music together. Jackstraw formed in 1997 when rhythm guitarist Darrin Craig and lead player Jon Neufeld (who also plays in the Decemberists’ side project Black Prairie), met mandolin picker David Pugh and bassist Jesse Withers at Artichoke Music, a Portland guitar store. Six records and 15 years later, the band has toured throughout the United States, playing roadhouses, clubs, listening rooms and festivals. They’ve picked up a reputation over the years for their impeccable musicianship and hard-driving original songs. This is bluegrass that belongs in a dusty honky-tonk, country twang as rooted in Bill Monroe as George Jones, an old sound for a new age.

Jackstraw: Come On Back To Me

Jackstraw: Poor Man