The Unfaithful Servants
October 11, 2024
Roberts Creek Legion, Roberts Creek BC
Posted to https://www.rootsmusic.ca/
They must be putting something in the water on Vancouver Island because the number of great bands, musicians, and singer-songwriters originating from, and/or based on the island is crazy. Add The Unfaithful Servants to the growing list.
Firmly rooted in “new grass” (traditional bluegrass with a contemporary twist), the band was established in 2017 by singer-songwriter/guitarist Dylan Stone and mandolinist Jesse Cobb. Jesse’s credits are impressive from being a founding member of the world -renowned Infamous String Dusters, to performances and recordings with Bela Fleck, Lee Anne Womack, Dirks Bentley, Jim Lauderdale , and many more.
Since the formation, the band has gone through some personnel changes, but now have been joined by Quin Etheridge-Pedden on 5-string fiddle, and Mark Johnson on upright bass. They perform a mix of instrumentals written by Cobb and Etheridge-Pedden and songs written by Stone. The instrumentals are reminiscent of the bluegrass supergroup, Strength in Numbers, with sophisticated time signatures and harmonized lightning fast runs between fiddle and mandolin. The “weave” (Stone described it as this and I thought the word was perfect) of those 2 instruments/players is the secret sauce of The Unfaithful Servants, with rhythm guitar and bass providing solid support.
Instrumental highlights were Etheridge-Pedden’s “The Grass is Always Bluer,” and the Cobb-penned “Big Shots,” and “Barracuda.”
The band isn’t just about instrumental prowess though.
Dylan Stone is a classic American/Canadiana (pick your term) singer-songwriter. He writes timeless songs that are rooted in traditional country and bluegrass but sound fresh. My personal favorites were “I Could Never Leave You Again,” “Bury Me Beneath the Ground,” (which featured a beautiful bowed melody by Mark Johnson on bass) and “Real To Touch.”
They also included some tasty and crowd-pleasing covers of The Allman Brothers “Rambling Man,” Dave Alvin’s “King of California,” and closed the night with a very original and exciting interpretation of Edgar Winter’s “Frankenstein.”
The band is getting ready to record a new album with the current line-up of players. I, for one, look forward to hearing it, and am hoping they return soon to the Sunshine Coast.