Written by Craig McGreggor Photos by James ATX
Duluth, Minnesota bluegrass heroes Trampled by Turtles thundered through a sold-out show at the historic Scoot Inn in East Austin. Performing an energetic 2 hour set after opener Phil Cook, the venue was awash with foot stomping, dancing, and unrelenting string work from the now 6 piece from the north tip of the states. Currently riding the waves of their 9th studio album “Life is Good on the Open Road” which reached #1 on the US BlueGrass Charts, Trampled by Turtles is showing the prowess of powerful bluegrass energy and phenomenally tight harmonies. The blood, sweat, and tears that shines through their music can only be borne from a group that has mostly been together since the rough and tumble days of being a teenager and young adulthood. They are currently being honored with peaking positions on major festivals such as the hometown Austin City Limits, Chicago-based Lollapalooza, and central Florida’s Hulaween Music and Arts Festival which precedes a globe-spanning world tour stretching into 2019. The band unleashed new material from their most recent album including “Kelly’s Bar,” “Wildflowers,” belting out popular singles “Alone”, “Wait so Long”, and honing in on classics like “Bluesky and the Devil”, “Codeine.” By the end of the hot evening in mid-October, the band blessed the crowd with an encore that included a forgiving cold-front and cool rain from the heavens. The final songs were filled with dancing and relief from the long, sweltering summers of Austin, TX.
