August 22nd, 2016 by WCBC Radio

The Cumberland Comes Alive concert series welcomes the Rumpke Mountain Boys to Bands on the Bricks for the final performance of the summer season on Friday evening, August 26. The band will be performing at the Historic City Center Stage at the corner of Liberty & Baltimore Streets at 6:30 pm. The performance is free of charge, but seating is limited, so don’t forget your folding lawn chair.

The Rumpke Mountain Boys combine signature vocals, a unique command of string instruments (acoustic guitar, mandolin, upright bass and banjo) and to create a one of a kind bluegrass musical experience. An emotion filled musical stream of consciousness with no set list, minimal structure, and intuitive improvisational flow. In this way, they summon the energy of the crowd as their guide in linking just the right music to precise moments in time.

Grateful Dead Hour host David Gans proclaimed, “One of the things I love about the Rumpke Mountain Boys is that there’s a fundamental honesty in their presentation. This is something they share with my other heroes, Donna the Buffalo and the Grateful Dead. They don’t make set lists ahead of time, they don’t rehearse their songs to a fare-thee-well– they perform in real time. All four of them write, which is very important, and they draw songs from a tremendous variety of sources… being a musician is a life-long learning experience, if you’re doing it right, and they are.”

Like playing around a campfire, the Boys take turns calling the next tune, distilling shows from a sea of infinite notes created from years of jamming. Drawing upon a growing catalog of originals and an eclectic mix of covers, the Rumpke Mountain Boys blend music like a fine Irish whiskey– the result affectionately dubbed Trashgrass. The Boys titled their 2012 album release with the same name, followed by their 2013 release, Moon, which was recorded at the famed Royal Studios in Memphis.

Cumberland Comes Alive is Western Maryland’s premier outdoor concert series. It is presented by Burgmeiers Hauling Inc. and is produced by the City of Cumberland’s Downtown Development Commission.