Bridging the racial gap between pre-Word War II roots music, the Tarbox Ramblers draw equally upon early 20th-century blues, hillbilly, and gospel. The Boston group's original sound, which emerges not only from tradition but from primal alt-rock energy, consists of leader/singer Michael Tarbox's open-tuned slide guitar, Johnny Sciascia's upright string bass, Daniel Kellar's fiddle, and Jon Cohan's tribalistic drums. Lighting up their hometown and abroad with their acclaimed live shows, the iconoclastic Tarbox Ramblers drew raves from the New Yorker and Washington Post, among others. The group released its self-titled debut in early 2000 on Rounder Records. ~ Erik Hage