Folkadelic!
The Nettles play improvisational music based on traditional tunes. Playing hard, they're a Celtic jam band that makes audiences move and groove. Playing soft, they're a lyrical folk jazz group.
The Nettles blend traditional Irish and American music with modern spices. Laura Brophy’s fiddle forms strong melodies punctuated by soaring improvisation and intertwined with Kevin Nettle's muscular guitar. The Nettles are propelled by the purring but powerful rhythm engine of Michael Proctor on bass and Tracy Daugherty on drums.
The Nettles play for festivals, dances, bars, and weddings on the West Coast. Their music retains the vital energy of its roots but The Nettles’ unique interpretations add to The Tradition with every performance. The Nettles joke that "We never play the same tune once."
Since 1996 The Nettles have played in venues ranging from the Wintergrass Bluegrass Festival and the Oregon Country Fair to the Oregon Bach Festival to dance camps to a wedding in the Opal Creek Wilderness Area to the opening ceremony for the Oregon Senate.
Reviews
“This progressive Celtic group takes traditional Irish and American music and sets it ablaze with wild improvisation and driving rhythm. Their music has delighted audiences from Ashland to Seattle at festivals, dances, bars, coffeehouses and live radio shows ”
“The music is mutually inspiring for the musicians themselves, who...have a mission to improvise using traditional music, something many might expect to encounter more often in the realm of jazz. [With] global influences as far-flung as Eastern Europe and as diverse as James Brown and Thelonious Monk, the group maintains that they never play the same tune once...” - Pat Amacher
“ The best time I've had at Folklife in the 20 years I've been coming!... Definitely on my list of top 10 dances ever!... This is what I came to Folklife for... Folklife just started!”
“ The Nettles are well-known on the West Coast for their original approach to contra dance music. Playing traditional music from all over the world, The Nettles create a strong rhythmic groove under soaring improvisations. Rhythmic drive and melodic fluidity allow The Nettles to propel contra dances into the stratosphere.”