The Blue Ox 2023 Virtual Band Competition Winning Artist. You’ll be able to catch The Spine Stealers performance on the Backwoods Stage on Saturday, June 24th (time TBA).

*Thank you to all the wonderfully talented artists who submitted. All entries will be considered as a performing artist for the Blue Ox 2024 festival.

The Spine Stealers are a two-gal duo, making spooky folk that is heavily influenced by the Northwood pines, 24/7 truck stop diners, heartbreak and dark lakes. Music started by learning guitar together around bonfires in their shared hometown of Sun Prairie, WI during the height of the 2020 pandemic. Songwriting came out through the seasons; Wisconsin winter an especially enduring friend for their deep dive into telling stories of themselves, of the Midwest. The Spine Stealers began religiously attending open mics in July of 2022 at Mickey’s Tavern, Come Back Inn, Harmony Bar & Grill, which soon led to their first show at The Bur Oak. The Spine Stealers have since played shows throughout Madison and in Appleton, WI, most recently opening Wisconsin Folk Fest at the Majestic Theatre with Dead Horses, Good Morning Bedlam and Gin Mill Hollow. The duo wants to write songs that crawl under your skin, to make you feel the winter that rusts your bones, the heartaches of nostalgia and broken ideas of love – to prove that we all may share a melancholy of sorts.

2023 Virtual Band Competition Artists:

(Listed in alphabetical order).

Competition voting closes Wednesday March 15th at 11:59 PM CDT

Blue Grama Bluegrass – Fort Collins, CO 

Blue Grama is a bluegrass band out of Fort Collins, CO. Taking their name from the long lived, warm season native Colorado grass, Blue Grama blends the sound of the Appalachian hills with the high plains of the Rockies. Just as the grass roots hold tight to the soil, Blue Grama is deeply rooted in bluegrass tradition, inspired by greats like Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, and the Del McCoury Band. Blue Grama’s repertoire includes a suite of original songs, bluegrass standards, and grassy cover tunes. The members of Blue Grama share a passion for music, taking every opportunity to feed their bluegrass habit, and share their music with others.

Breanne Marie & The Front Porch Sinners – Duluth, MN 

Great Lakes country music from a front porch in Duluth, MN. Breanne Marie broke into the Minnesota music scene as a solo performer with an acoustic guitar and a repertoire of country covers and originals. Her 2013 debut album “Six Strings of Peace and Sanity” was a collection of sweet and deeply personal songs she wrote following her father’s suicide and her brother’s death in a car accident. The success of the album set the stage for the formation of her full-blown backing band The Front Porch Sinners; Evan Tepler on guitar, Johnny Peterson on pedal steel and mandolin, Kyle Gondik-Anderson on bass, Matt Groom on drums, Kailyn Spencer on fiddle and Danielle Gondik-Anderson on background vocals. The group plays “Great Lakes country music” which is an alt-country sound using classic country instruments mixed with lyrics that speak to the hard times and natural beauty of rust belt communities like Duluth, MN.

In 2021, they released a full-length album “Juniper” on digital, CD and vinyl.

“‘Juniper is wonderfully soaring and uplifting alongside the saddest of scenarios.” – Americana UK

“The melodies on this album are well crafted. Each melody has layers of sound that make you want to hear the album on the best available sound system.” – Americana Highways

Carrie Sue & The Wood Burners – Urbana, IL

Carrie Sue & The Wood Burners hail from Urbana, IL and reside at the intersection of songwriting, storytelling, and harmonizing – creating a unique blend of folk, bluegrass, country, and Americana music. It’s a combination of the old and new that takes the timeless art of a well-crafted song, the beauty of interwoven melody and harmony, and melts it all together with contemporary inspiration.

Honest songs, heartfelt vocals and excellent musicianship mark a unique but familiar sound for this trio.

Charlie Mellinger Band – Fayetteville, AR

Charlie Mellinger Band is a string fusion group hailing from the Midwest, blending psychedelic vibes with the free-flowing energy of the jam band genre. Led by the virtuosic Charlie Mellinger on lead guitar and vocals, the band is a vibrant ensemble of diverse instruments, including drums, mandolin, electric guitar, bass, keyboard, and percussion.

In performance, the Charlie Mellinger Band delivers a dynamic and ever-evolving musical experience, fusing their diverse influences into a sound that is both energetic and soulful. Whether exploring the outer reaches of jam band psychedelia or channeling the rootsy energy of classic bluegrass, Charlie Mellinger and his bandmates bring a deep love of music to every performance, creating an unforgettable experience for audiences of all stripes. For fans of eclectic string fusion and high-energy jamming, Charlie Mellinger Band is not to be missed.

Crying Uncle Bluegrass – Alameda, CA

Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band (CUBG), widely recognized as one of the most exciting young bands in acoustic music, plays a unique mix of Bluegrass, Dawg, Jazz and original modern acoustic music. Brothers Miles and Teo Quale are joined by bassist Andrew Osborn and guitarist John Gooding, outstanding young musicians of the vibrant California bluegrass scene. Nominated for the 2021 International Bluegrass Music Association’s Band Momentum Award and winners of the 2018 Pickin’ in the Pines Band Contest in Flagstaff AZ, CUBG is making waves in the world of bluegrass and acoustic music.

Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band has opened for prestigious bands, including Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives and David Grisman Bluegrass Experience. The band has played at venues such as IBMA’s World of Bluegrass Festival, CBA’s Father’s Day Bluegrass Festival, Strawberry Music Festival, SF’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, and Arizona’s Pickin’ in the Pines. Internationally, the band played at Bluegrass in La Roche, France in 2022 and in 2019, they traveled throughout Finland on a 10-day tour, culminating at Kaustinen Folk Music Festival. They’re headed to Japan for a tour in March 2023. In 2018, the band was featured on a TEDTalk with Nashville-based singer/songwriter Phoebe Hunt.

In 2018, the band released their eponymous album, Crying Uncle. And in 2020, they released their sophomore album, Monroe Bridge. Monroe Bridge, which features guest artists fiddler Chad Manning and mandolinist Sharon Gilchrist, was produced by David Grisman Bluegrass Experience banjoist Keith Little and mastered at Berkeley’s Opus Studios. In 2021, the bluegrass band came out with an EP of mostly self-written tunes, Till I Dance Again with You, inspired by a year of quarantining during the pandemic. Most recently, they released their newest album, The Thing of Dreams.

Crying Uncle was founded in 2016 by Miles and Teo Quale, as a duo band with invited guest artists. The following year, Andrew and John joined Crying Uncle’s Bluegrass Band. As the original Crying Uncle, Miles and Teo also continue to perform as a Duo.

The Damn Neighbors  – Fayetteville, AR

The Damn Neighbors Combine raw and relentless bluegrass with carefully crafted songwriting and 3-part harmonies to create a sound that cannot be ignored. Band members include John Henry Holthus (guitar), Brennan Johnson (mandolin), and Jen Parker (upright bass). They released their first album in 2021 and are currently in the studio working on their second album.

Front Porch – Eureka, AR

Foot stomping clawhammer banjo, powerful vocal harmonies, and ripping mandolin and fiddle melodies to energetic rhythms. Winners of the 2022 Pickin’ On band competition, Front Porch blends contemporary folk songwriting styles with an old-time mountain sound rooted in Ozark tradition- creating a unique mix of old and new that will make you hoot and holler!

The Get Together – Minneapolis, MN

The Get Together began with the writings and recordings of producer Ethan Huffington. Surrounded by his plants and pedals in a wood paneled Minneapolis basement, he set about crafting neo-psychedelic journeys through otherworldly dreamscapes. A get together necessarily involves more than one person however, and via the serendipitous magic of the internet a band soon coalesced around his songs. Together, they created a live act that showcases their combined creative energies, while reinterpreting and expanding upon the recorded discography. Described variously as indie or neopsychedelic – drawing a lot of inspiration from artists of the 60’s and 70’s.

Gin Mill Hollow – Madison, WI

Born as an acoustic duo at the Up North Bar in Madison, Wisconsin, Gin Mill Hollow found traction in the area after adding mandolin and eventually percussion to the mix. Now eight years and 500+ shows later, Gin Mill Hollow has two studio albums to their credit, and they continue to tour the mid-west and Colorado regularly to growing audiences. No strangers to exploring the unknown the band loves expanding a song into a jam, allowing the rhythm section of drummer Joe Murray and bass player Mark Norman to lay the foundation for melodic interplay from mandolinist Josh Giudice and guitarist Dan Plourde.

Jake Leg – Lyons, CO

Jake Leg is a 4-piece, new acoustic group from the Front Range of Colorado. The band consists of award-winning musicians Eric Wiggs (vocals/guitar), Dylan McCarthy (mandolin/vocals), Justin Hoffenberg (fiddle) and Troy Robey (bass). Forged in their favorite elements of the bluegrass genre, Jake Leg focuses on delivering compelling, original music. Expressive musicianship and soulful vocals create the framework for the vivid storytelling in each song to come to life. A Jake Leg live show centers on exciting improvisation and features a spectrum of textures and grooves that engages the audience from the first note to the last.

Since forming in 2021, Jake Leg has been quickly recognized as one of the leading contemporary bluegrass bands out of the Colorado area. 2022 saw them moving into bigger regional festivals, including an invitation from Planet Bluegrass to perform in the Wildflower Pavilion at Rockygrass. With steadily growing momentum and plans to release their debut full-length album next year, Jake Leg is poised to make their mark on the bluegrass genre with their unique voice.

Mountain Fern – Minneapolis, MN 

The Americana duo Mountain Fern was born in the fall of 2022. Blending together their backgrounds of classical, jazz, blues, bluegrass and folk music, their sound entices a wide span of acoustic music lovers. Songwriter Hannah Hendrickson brings a sense of familiarity through rootsy progressions, clever lyrics and soulful melodies that are brought to life through the sweeping and mysterious fiddle lines and harmonies of Tessa Nichols-Meade. Hannah was previously half of the folk duo Nate & Hannah and can be seen periodically as a rotating member of Brotherhood of Birds. Tessa has played with groups such as The Floating Perspectives and Cold City Heat and currently performs with the hot club jazz group The Ryan Picone Quartet. The Twin Cities based band has a changing cast of additional artists they play with, the goal in mind being to offer support and opportunities to women in music.

Pay the Devil – Milwaukee, WI 

Coasting through its tenth anniversary, Pay the Devil finished the year 2022 with a finale in the form of a live-tracked album, Turn to Gold, which is to be released April 14th, 2023. Staying true to their source sounds of a raucous old-timey nautical stringband, Pay the Devil ventures further within the sea of all-things-Americana. The thirteen song LP, Turn to Gold, is a culmination of the band’s last half-decade of graceful navigation through a world-crippling pandemic, re-introduction to public performance, and keeping a leisurely yet consistent pace of musical improvements.

On Turn to Gold, the band brings original songs from each of the string-players, showcasing the album’s namesake, written by bassist Jacqueline Lalley. Additionally, new routes of percussion piloted by longtime ally/member Kent Heberling have taken Pay the Devil on a novel course of refinement and experimentation.

The Spine Stealers – Madison, WI

The Spine Stealers are a two-gal duo, making spooky folk that is heavily influenced by the Northwood pines, 24/7 truck stop diners, heartbreak and dark lakes. Music started by learning guitar together around bonfires in their shared hometown of Sun Prairie, WI during the height of the 2020 pandemic. Songwriting came out through the seasons; Wisconsin winter an especially enduring friend for their deep dive into telling stories of themselves, of the Midwest. The Spine Stealers began religiously attending open mics in July of 2022 at Mickey’s Tavern, Come Back Inn, Harmony Bar & Grill, which soon led to their first show at The Bur Oak. The Spine Stealers have since played shows throughout Madison and in Appleton, WI, most recently opening Wisconsin Folk Fest at the Majestic Theatre with Dead Horses, Good Morning Bedlam and Gin Mill Hollow. The duo wants to write songs that crawl under your skin, to make you feel the winter that rusts your bones, the heartaches of nostalgia and broken ideas of love – to prove that we all may share a melancholy of sorts.

Theyself – St. Paul, MN

“a panic attack you can dance to”

Commonly known as ‘Doc’ Pat Dougherty is the artist and multi-instrumentalist behind theyself. Known for their hypnotically energetic live performances, Doc got their start writing songs in a borrowed storage closet on the West bank of Minneapolis and has come to perform and release records with several bands including Fairfax, AK and currently Elle PF.

After DIY touring the United States for a few years, Doc took a year off to write a song a week and formed the sound that led to theyself: a rootsy voice dripped in soul over a blend of blues, bluegrass, and house music. In 2018 the project was nominated for ‘Best New Band’ by City Pages.

Their debut EP Wolf Tower was tracked one night on an 8-track tape recorder in a hotel room using a pair of headphones as a makeshift microphone. KBEK put it at #7 on the list of ‘MN Records of the Year’ in 2018, and 2019 KNO its visual companion piece was featured by Melodic Noise as a 2019 EP of the Year.

In 2020 Doc was listed as an artist to watch by Twin Cities Pride Magazine and released “roost” a lo-fi album of improvised piano pieces inspired by the fibonacci sequence. Harvested off of voice memos from a cellphone each track is a one-shot take played on the house upright performed under quarantine during the covid-19 pandemic in the Minneapolis-based DIY performance space The Auk”s Roost. Currently Doc is readying the release of ‘1500’ a new EP by theyself which was recorded in their touring van in South Minneapolis and random outposts off MN Highway 61.

Tommy Goodroad – Chicago, IL

“With his Midwest-inspired music and cowboy charm, Tommy Goodroad possesses damn near all the qualities one could want from a modern country singer,” says Corrine Robinson of Music Mecca. Chicago-based and Minnesota-raised, Tommy Goodroad self-recorded, self-produced and self-released his debut album Swimming In the Clay in 2021, and has been playing shows around the country since.

Uncle Muskrat – Minneapolis, MN

Modern Sounds in Mountain Music. If you’re lucky enough to stumble upon Uncle Muskrat in the wild, you can expect 5-part harmonies galore with Guitar, Banjo, Fiddle, Mandolin, Bass Fiddle, an occasional shaker, some solid stomping, and an unwavering passion for the music they are playing.

The gentleman of Uncle Muskrat can be seen and heard often throughout Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the surrounding areas; often at breweries.. who can blame them.. good people and good beer make for a great venue and a damn good time!