Stillwater, NJ · jam · bluegrass

Railroad Earth

1 upcoming festival →

Jamgrass veterans — fiddle-driven Americana that stretches out live like a freight train taking a curve.

Railroad Earth formed in 2001 in northwestern New Jersey, built around singer and songwriter Todd Sheaffer, who had previously fronted From Good Homes. The group works with acoustic string-band instrumentation — guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, upright bass and a full drum kit — but arranges it more like a rock band than a traditional bluegrass outfit.

The result sits between folk, bluegrass, country and jam-band rock, with Sheaffer's narrative songwriting anchoring long instrumental passages and extended improvisation. Railroad Earth built its following largely through steady touring and a live repertoire that changes night to night, and the band has remained a fixture of the American jamgrass scene since its early years.

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