ABOUT THE LOCAL GROUP
~ Bluegrass ~ Folk ~ Canadiana ~
Taking their name from the cluster of galaxies containing the Milky Way, the Local Group plays music of astronomical proportions. With roots in rural Saskatchewan and Australia, this young Saskatoon-based quartet puts their own unique spin on hard-driving traditional bluegrass, also taking influence from Celtic, classic country, Canadiana, punk, hip hop and more. Featuring hot banjo, mandolin and guitar picking, tight 3-part harmonies, and a mixed bag of instruments including double bass, fiddle, harmonica, penny whistle and triangle, their show will take you out of this world on a rocket fueled by pure folk music.
The band has entertained at numerous festivals including the Ness Creek Music Festival, Sasktel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival and Northern Lights Bluegrass Festival. They've played all across the prairie provinces at any kind of venue you can think of: house concerts, dive bars, schools, theatres, weddings and old-time dances. The boys released their debut album in December of 2020.
"Nero's Waltz" is the second album from Saskatoon bluegrass boy band the Local Group, to be released on June 17th 2022 via Grey Records. The songs were written, worked, and reworked over the course of the pandemic. The result is a collection of songs captured almost entirely live off the floor, with subject matter ranging from the apocalyptic overture of the title track to loneliness, spite, love, and snowmen. It was recorded in the heart of winter in Micah Erenberg's cozy cabin-turned-studio, a short walk from a frozen Lake Winnipeg. With Clayton Linthicum of Kacy and Clayton at the producer's helm, Nero's Waltz respects the time-honoured sounds of traditional bluegrass while incorporating a wide breadth of instrumentation and textures.
The Local Group
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Neros Waltz out now
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