Run Boy Run (band)

Run Boy Run
Origin Tucson, Arizona, United States
Genres Progressive bluegrass, acoustic
Years active 2009-present
Website Official website
Members
  • Matt Rolland
  • Grace Rolland
  • Jennifer Sandoval
  • Bekah Sandoval Rolland
Past members
  • Jesse Allen

Run Boy Run is an American progressive bluegrass band out of Arizona, that plays a combination of traditional bluegrass music with original works presented with three part vocal harmony. Their style and music have captured the attention of the audiences and enabled them to win several band competitions. Their appearances on A Prairie Home Companion in early 2013 brought them national attention.

Members

  • Matt Rolland - Fiddle and Guitar — Attended the University of Arizona where he and most of the others often played together. He has won the title of Arizona State Grand Fiddling Champion two times. At the National Fiddling Championships in Weiser, Idaho Rolland has placed in the top ten three times.[1] These contest years are captured in an album of contest fiddle music, Fingerprints, he recorded in 2001 with his brother, Michael. Rolland worked as a stockbroker with Charles Schwab in Phoenix until June 2013. His father is also a fiddle player.[2]
  • Grace Rolland - Cello, guitar, octave mandolin and vocals
  • Jennifer Sandoval - Mandolin, guitar, octave mandolin and vocals— She worked as an in-home caretaker after graduating from the University of Arizona in 2012.[3]
  • Bekah Sandoval Rolland – Fiddle, guitar and vocals — Attended the University of Arizona where she met the others. Until the end of the 2013 school year she taught eighth-, ninth- and 10th-graders in Phoenix.
  • Jesse Allen – Upright Bass - Also an alumnus of the University of Arizona, Allen worked as a web developer and provides the technical support for the band's web site. Jesse left the group in January 2016 to pursue his solo project, Bitters McAllen. His album, Spirits Kill the Past, was released in 2016.

Matt and Grace are siblings, as are Jen and Bekah.

Bekah and Matt were married on July 5, 2013 in Yaak, Montana.

Beginnings

The Rollands and Sandovals had known each other for many years, as they had often been at Bluegrass Festivals where the Sandoval's father had played.[4] Matt and the Sandoval's were all at the University of Arizona and held informal jam sessions. Jesse had been busking on a corner around the campus when he was asked to join in.[5]

Their festival appearances brought them a lot of attention. In 2009, just a month or so after forming the group, they won the band contest at the Flagstaff Pickin' in the Pines Acoustic Music Festival, which got them started. Two years later they won the Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Contest in 2011, putting them on the list with previous winners such as the Dixie Chicks and Nickel Creek.[6] The members were split between Phoenix and Tulsa, limiting their time together. They continue to play local venues and festivals, including Country Thunder 2013 [7] and the Ogden Friends of Acoustic Music Festival 2013.[8]

Prairie Home Companion

On January 19, 2013, American Public Media's A Prairie Home Companion, with Garrison Keillor was broadcast live from Phoenix, Arizona. Looking for a local act, Run Boy Run was enlisted. Their original takes on music and rich harmonies enchanted Keillor, to the point where he commented on air that they needed to be on the show again.[9] Four weeks later the band flew to Saint Paul, Minnesota to broadcast with Keillor live from the Fitzgerald Theater for the February 16 show.[10]

Keillor was so impressed that he wrote part of the liner notes on the band's first full-length album, So Sang the Whippoorwill due for release just a few weeks later. He praised the band for their beautiful harmonies, "I hope they go on forever," he said.[11][12]

After their first appearance on the show the band was victim to the “Prairie” Effect. "'So many people came to our website that it crashed — that was one of the most exciting things to happen to us,' said Matt Rolland."[13]

So Sang the Whippoorwill

They used Kickstarter to fund their first full-length album. Each of the members contributed by writing at least one track on the album. It was released March 13, 2013.[14] The album was number 66 on Folk DJ's May 2013 top albums.[15] One description used for the album is "Arizona meets Appalachia" as the tones and harmonies are clearly rooted in bluegrass.[16]

The recording was done in the Jim Brady Recording Studios.[17]

Discography

  • Run Boy Run, EP 2011
  • So Sang the Whippoorwill, 2013, ASIN: B00BYKUJAQ
  • Something to Someone, 2014, Sky Island Records
  • I Would Fly, EP 2016

References

  1. ↑ "Matt Rolland". Fiddle Hangout. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Rolland Fiddle Camp - Matt Rolland". Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  3. ↑ Anguiano, Ana (January 31, 2013). "A Band of Two Cities: Run Boy Run Revives Bluegrass Tradition". College Times. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  4. ↑ Peterson, Julie (April 12, 2013). "Musical Pedigrees". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  5. ↑ Armstrong, Gene (August 23, 2012). "Musical Pedigrees". Tucson Weekly. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Arizona Band Wins Telluride Band Contest!". Prescription Bluegrass Blog. July 1, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  7. ↑ Burch, Cathalena E. (April 13, 2013). "Tucson band Run Boy Run thrills at Country Thunder". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Run Boy Run at OFAM". Ogden Friends of Acoustic Music. Archived from the original on March 8, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  9. ↑ "A Prairie Home Companion for January 19, 2013". Prairiehome.publicradio.org. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  10. ↑ "A Prairie Home Companion for February 16, 2013". Prairiehome.publicradio.org. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Run Boy Run gets bigger". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  12. ↑ "So Sang the Whippoorwill by Run Boy Run - A Prairie Home Companion". Publicradio.org. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Story". Standard-Examiner. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Run Boy Run Completes So Sang The Whppoorwill". Cybergrass.com. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Top Albums and Songs of May 2013 (FOLKDJ-L)". AcousticMusicScene.com. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Appalachia meets Arizona in Run Boy Run". Columbia Daily Tribune. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Run Boy Run". Zocalo Magazine - Tucson Arts and Culture. Retrieved September 2014. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
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