Talia Schlanger for NPR – “If you’re into Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Dr. John or Louis Armstrong and play almost any instrument under the sun, let’s jam!”
That’s the gist of what musician Zach Lupetin said in a Craigslist ad more than a decade ago when he was looking to put together a band in Los Angeles. Among the respondents, he found a trumpet player, mandolin player, a retired principal and a chiropractor — a real mixed bag, but one that formed the bones of what would become The Dustbowl Revival, Lupetin’s high-octane, bluegrass-meets-soul, New Orleans-meets-Memphis, brass-meets-fiddle conglomerate with a rotating cast of characters that, at one point, swelled to a whopping 25 musicians on stage.
These days, The Dustbowl Revival is eight members strong, including trumpet, trombone, fiddle, bass, guitar, drums, mandolin and some big vocals from Lupetin and singer Liz Beebe. You’re going to hear a real party of a live performance and a big group interview where you might not know who’s who, but I’ll shout ’em all out at the end.