Folk music probably isn’t the first sound you associate with Portland. Despite the recent tide of interest coalescing around groups like Mumford and Sons, Portland’s zeitgeist still seems to be barreling down into the electronic-alternative pit we all know and love.
Folk music probably isn’t the first sound you associate with Portland. Despite the recent tide of interest coalescing around groups like Mumford and Sons, Portland’s zeitgeist still seems to be barreling down into the electronic-alternative pit we all know and love.
Blitzen Trapper doesn’t seem aware of such waves. The Portland-native four-to-five man acoustic band is real deal folk authenticity with a twist. Their sound is Bob Dylan fucked Neil Young at a county fair country-fried meets early-’70s psychedelic. The permutations make for interesting results.
The group was formed in 2000 and self-released their first three albums. They hit the big time with that third album, Wild Mountain Nation, and were signed to “devourer of all things independent but marketable” Sub Pop records in 2007.
Their current line-up is five strong: Eric Earley, Erik Menteer, Brian Adrian Koch, Michael VanPelt and Marty Marquis. That’s a lot of chefs for a folk kitchen, and each member handles multiple instruments, but the overall effect is more clean than chaotic.
After 12 years, Blitzen Trapper is still going strong. They released their newest album, American Goldwing, in September of last year, and they’ll be spending the rest of the spring touring the West Coast and Midwest.
Locations for their shows can be found on the band’s website, blitzentrapper.net.
