By David Smith
There are perfect moments in time across all musical genres. In bluegrass there are many. Some well-known, such as the revolutionary meeting of Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, and Earl Scruggs in 1946. Or another revolution of 1971 when the low lonesome John Starling and the high soaring John Duffey found magic with Auldridge, Eldridge, and Gray. With every decade came the next moment of perfection: 1975 when New South was a brief window of vocal and instrumental awe, definitions of tradition and progression finding voice through the 1980’s with Hot Rize and New Grass Revival, Alisson Krauss’ rightful domination of the entire 1990’s, or a lesser known, but more recent moment (perfect in this writer’s opinion) when in 2020 Graham Sharp dug deep in the midst of COVID wondering to write every song of the Steep CanyonRangers’ Arm and Arm release.
Are we seeing a current moment of modern bluegrass perfection on the Front Range of Colorado? Well, the word “perfect” is obviously open to the listener’s interpretation (and I’ve certain left out many already), but at the very least, there are elements of those mentioned above in the debut release, Fire on the Prairie, from 2024 IBMA Momentum Band of the Year nominee, one of Denver Westword’s “10 of the Top Colorado Bluegrass Bands,” and Colorado Bluegrass Music Association Band Member, Jake Leg.
An aspect of the album that stands out in a perfect manner is its production. It is flawless to the ear like audio made for the systems of Bose, Beats by Dre, or to cruise a well-paved mountain pass in a Lincoln Navigator with the volume holding you lost in a world of melody and tone. I feel guilty with the CD in my 20-year-old 5-disc changer and the Onkyos doing their best to take me to Jake Leg’s place of originality. There are names familiar to the Colorado bluegrass scene who we have to thank for this sound: produced with the assistance of Chris Pandolfi, engineered and mixed by Eric Wiggs (also guitarist and vocalist for the band), and mastered by Anna Frick and Ally Sound. From a production stand you simply can’t go wrong here, and the results sing for themselves.
Such a meeting of production minds can be viewed as a perfect moment, but it takes the art of musicianship to have the sound to melt into wax (nudge, nudge, Jake Leg…). Let’s talk about the perfect moment in Front Range bluegrass artistry that is Dylan McCarthy. Aside from his massive and tasteful tone on the mandolin, he has a quiet presence on stage with Eric Wiggs handling the majority of lead vocals, and fiddle player, Justin Hoffenberg, often on the mic with MC duties. It took me several times seeing them perform and an eye-opening upon reading the liner notes of their album to discover that McCarthy wrote every song of lyrical line, each verse turning to chorus exposing the heart through a glimpse of experience and the subconscious. Some write a song that they bring to festival friends year after year as a cherished tradition. Some write hidden gems that are brought out around a late-night campfire, perhaps never to be heard again. Dylan McCarthy wrote a bluegrass opus 11 tracks deep, but this is no epitome, as I trust that Fire on the Prairie is no denouement of action and tension and passion, but instead a poetic accomplishment of place and time, with inspirations released by pencil to paper, humming melodies becoming chord progressions, arrangements of the imagination, when space yearns for a fill to be realized by a quartet of bass, guitar, fiddle, and mandolin in creation of song. And there is more to come.
McCarthy’s words knock on the door of bluegrass cliché, but in a modern fashion that brings you to your favorite craft brewery on a Saturday night, a town of your memory from a road trip with friends, a consciousness of maturity that takes a casual fling to thought of commitment, and with that maturity a remembrance of struggle and the supportive shoulders that helped carry the weight. While these might be familiar themes in bluegrass it’s the rhythmical, blues-hinting instrumental structure that sets McCarthy apart. Like an acoustic J.J. Cale in a pickin’ party with his buddies (but don’t forget that production), Jake Leg’s Fire on the Prairie moves with mile-long loaded freight train chug that won’t have a steady climbing grade let a steel wheel slip upon the track.
And you can’t make a J.J. Cale comparison without having one absolute hoss on guitar. Colorado is downright lucky to have Eric Wiggs. From being behind the board of his own recording studio, to his sound engineering (such as the clarity of Midwinter Bluegrass Festival), to his undeniable guitar abilities, Wiggs is the front man that the words and feel of McCarthy’s songwriting calls for. In the clean and well-arranged bluegrass fight club that is Jake Leg, Wiggs is Brad Pitt to McCarthy’s Ed Norton.
Then there’s Justin Hoffenberg. Was he born from the watery womb of the St. Vrain running through the Rockygrass campground? With fiddle in-hand as natural as prodigies over the generations? No. He put in the hard work and it’s a special time – a perfect moment in bluegrass – to see his talents come to fruition. From the paying for gas money (maybe) early years learning the dim lights, thick smoke realities of the business as a sideman for Town Mountain, to taking in the professional arrangements, timing, and harmonies of the craft standing side-by-side with the legend, Pete Wernick, in Long Road Home, now is Hoffenberg’s time, Jake Leg is his double stop conduit, and we are the lucky crowd with a keen ear turned toward a rare sound of bow across string.
With Bradley Morse on bass for the album, and now touring as a complete quartet with Aaron Hoffenberg on the upright, Jake Leg is poised to entertain from the north (playing Midwinter Bluegrass Festival, February 14-16) to the south (playing the Durango Bluegrass Meltdown, April 11-13). Be a part of this perfect moment in bluegrass and find yourself a copy of Fire on the Prairie, then hear the songs brought to life on a stage near you.
More information on the band and these upcoming festivals can be found at:
Comments