Before string bands were a “thing” in popular culture, there was the Hackensaw Boys. Before The Avett Brothers were selling out arenas, before Mumford & Sons were becoming the biggest band in music in a given year, before everybody and their brother was growing a beard and wearing suspenders and playing in jug bands, the Hackensaw Boys were mixing bluegrass and old time music with a punk attitude, and reshaping what a modern old school string band could sound like.

— Saving Country Music

Roots music shapeshifters Hackensaw Boys have been making audiences holler and dance since way back in 1999. Formed in Charlottesville and now based in Lynchburg, Virginia, this hard traveling group has built an international following for their high-energy performances and down-to-earth presentation. Despite their roots in traditional music, their homegrown aesthetic (bolstered by the “charismo,” their calling card percussion instrument handmade from cans and other metal objects) belies their contemporary approach to songcraft and showmanship. Hackensaw Boys’ music today has just as much in common with the straight-ahead sound of the Del McCoury Band as it does with the indie rock of Pavement and the modern folk of the Avett Brothers and Mountain Goats. Their most recent LPs merge an old timey sonic palette with a folk-punk sensibility, with poignant lyricism, focused arrangements, and a deep groove all held together by bluegrass chops. Coming out swinging after the pandemic release of A Fireproof House Of Sunshine and 2022’s Hackensaw Boys, they’ve brought this sound on tour dates all across the US, Canada, and Europe, including appearances at ROMP Music Festival, Paaspop (Netherlands), and Tønder Festival (Denmark).

Hackensaw Boys are currently gearing up to celebrate the 20th anniversary of one of their most beloved albums. Love What You Do was released in August 2005 on Nettwerk Records. Compiled from sessions that took place in Charlottesville, San Francisco, and Amsterdam amid constant touring, so many of its cuts remain fan favorites to this day. “Sun’s Work Undone” and “Alabama Shamrock” showcase the band’s more delicate side with spacious instrumentation and enigmatic lyrics about love and longing. “Kiss You Down There” still gets requested at virtually every show, and “We Are Many” continues to be perfect fodder for the group’s electrifying encores. The latter, with its foot-stomping rhythm and shout-along chorus, has come to exemplify what many people love most about seeing the band live: that a Hackensaw Boys show isn’t a bluegrass show, it’s a rock and roll show played on banjo and fiddle with all the spirit of a hoedown.

Current Lineup:

David Sickmen - Guitar/Vocal

Caleb Powers - Fiddle

Taylor Shuck - Banjo

Thomas Olivier - Mandolin

Aaron Smith - Bass

Bee Roberts - Percussion

House Rules:

1. Be nice or leave.

2. #PSTFU; we're here to hear the music!

3. No smoking or vaping indoors.

If requiring ADA seating please email us at booking@dukesindy.com AFTER completing ticket purchase.

No Refunds | Support acts subject to change

Complimentary Parking On Site

Under 21 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian

Support from The Stampede String Band

“Inspired by the blind blues singers and red clay farmers who gave the nation its heart and soul, The Stampede String Band presents their 4th album, The Last Shall Be First. It tells stories of outcasts, seekers, and good-hearted people fighting for their lives against the odds, and it searches out beauty and redemption in the low points in life. In the spirit of lowliness, this album strips away all trace of glitz and grand production. Founding members Aaron Nicely and John Bahler recorded these sparse duets with the same condenser mic they use for live performances, capturing the power, intimacy, and rawness of the miracle that can happen in a single-take. The song “Record Store Babies” laments the loss of “the scratches and pops that we’ve all grown to miss when the mp3 compression sucked out every hiss,” but rest assured these songs give you all the life, warmth, earnestness, and imperfections of those old recordings.

Over the last decade, The Stampede String Band has earned a reputation for their hard-hitting acoustic performances, thoughtful lyrics, and powerhouse vocal harmonies. The Last Shall Be First is not just another decent Stampede album: it’s a hair-raising experience. Its ten tracks include eight new originals, a cover of former band member Scot Heminger’s track “Long Time” that originally appeared on an album by his band Dos Ringos, and a cover of Blind Willie Johnson’s soul-splitting spiritual, “Nobody’s Fault But Mine.”