专辑简介

Since 2004, Chicago’s Henhouse Prowlers have played their own brand of bluegrass music shaped by the city they live in, and the experiences they’ve had on international tours. What started as a group of musicians humbly working at their craft with weekly shows in local neighborhood establishments, turned into a full-time job; performing, creating, and teaching music - not only around their hometown, but across the United States, and distant locales in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The roots of bluegrass shine through the band’s shows, performing around a single microphone, respecting tradition while pushing its boundaries. On stage, story-telling songs mingle with hard-driving instrumentals and ballads to complete a sound the band has been honing for years, but it’s more than a musical performance. As one long-time fan says, “You can't leave a Prowlers show without getting the feeling you actually know the people you just saw perform on stage. It’s like the show was happening in your living room.”

Performing 200 shows a year, this band places no limit on where they will appear. Cross-country U.S. tours, and annual tours in Europe are a band staple. In 2013 the Henhouse Prowlers began a relationship with the United States State Department through the American Music Abroad program (AMA), visiting four countries in West Africa. AMA involves teaching, workshops, and collaborations with local bands in countries seldom visited by foreigners, let alone American bluegrass bands. The boys embraced their initial opportunity and since then have been invited to perform in other far reaches of the world, including Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, 11 countries throughout Africa, and Kyrgyzstan, thus making cultural diplomacy a part of their brand.

Whether at a show in Chicago or a market square in Liberia, the Prowlers see bluegrass as a way to make a musical connection from the stage to the people in the audience. You feel it at every show.