HEADLINERS 2022
THE GRASCALS
The Grascals mark OIBF debut in ‘ 22 Hailing from Music City , U . S . A ., The Grascals are bringing their authentic , breathtaking bluegrass sound to OIBF for a 2022 debut .
by JOE MACK
I had to ask , “ What is a Grascal ?” And where did you come up with Grascal ?”
“ When we were looking for a name , we all loved ‘ The Andy Griffith Show ,’ and looked for something from that that we could use , but nothing worked ,” said mandolinist Danny Roberts in a recent OIBF exclusive . “ Then ‘ The Little Rascals ’ TV show came on , and we thought just add a ‘ G ’ to rascal and have The Grascals .”
The band , which also includes bassist Terry Smith , guitarists John Bryan and Chris Davis , fiddler Adam Haynes and banjoist Kristin Scott Benson , draws inspiration and influence from countless sources , but all agree that traditional country is where their sounded is rooted , like The Osborne Brothers and Hank Williams
“ The music has evolved so much that you can ’ t define it ,” Benson offers . “ The bluegrass tent is huge these days , and under that large umbrella The Grascals are pretty traditional sounding - but it ’ s all perspective . Next to The Clinch Mountain Boys , we sound contemporary ; next to the Infamous String Dusters , we sound traditional .”
“ I feel like a big thing that helps keep us with a fresh sound is that we have never said we must do a certain thing . From the beginning , we always looked to do songs that we liked , not songs that we felt we had to do to be in a certain genre ,” Baker added .
The band has been nominated for multiple Grammy
Awards , won several International Bluegrass Music Association Awards ( including back-to-back Entertainer of the Year honors 2006-2007 ), and countless Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America awards .
Benson herself is a five-time Banjo Performer of the Year IBMA honoree .
“ I started playing banjo when I was 13 . My dad played bluegrass and my maternal grandfather was a professional mandolin player and singer , so it was always around ,” Benson remembers . “ I fell in love with the instrument and just got consumed . I saw the band Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver , and that ignited my desire to play , even though I ’ d always liked bluegrass . I conquered peer pressure at a young age , because my teen years were pretty much wholly devoted to banjo .”
“ Festivals are the lifeblood of most bluegrass bands ,” Benson offers . “ It ’ s great , because you see a lot of the same people year to year . We also get to see our musician friends … the joke is we may live in the same town , but we have to travel states away to actually run into each other ,” she laughs .
Baker said . “ This fest was always linked to Byron Berline ’ s name and I believe always will be . Byron was one of the nicest guys I ever met , and in my opinion one of the greatest fiddlers that ever lived .”
Keep up with this Tennessee six pack of pickers at www . grascals . com . IBF
OKLAHOMA ’ S INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL 2022 / 7