Parsonsfield at The Mainstay, March 19

Parsonsfield, a five piece acoustic string band from Connecticut brings their music with its wide-ranging American influences and infectious, rowdy, rock-‘n’-roll spirit to The Mainstay in Rock Hall, MD on Saturday March 19 at 8:00 p.m. Admission is $15. For information and reservations call 410-639-9133. Information is also available at the Mainstay’s website https://www.mainstayrockhall.org.

This is Parsonsfield’s second visit to the Kent County area (their previous visit was to the Garfield in Chestertown during Downrigging in 2015). Since their 2010 debut, they have toured constantly creating new fans wherever they go with an energetic and wide-ranging approach to Americana roots music. Often compared to Mumford and Sons or the Avett Brothers, the band has a singular style that blows away preconceptions of banjo and mandolin driven music. With Chris Freeman in vocals and banjo, Antonio Alcorn on mandolin, Max Shakun on vocals, pump organ and guitar, Harrison Goodale on bass and Erik Hischmann on drums, they create music that is neither bluegrass nor folk but which draws from both and is uniquely their own.

Their first recording, under the name Poor Old Shine, was produced in 2013 by Sam Kassirer (Josh Ritter, Lake Street Dive). The critics were impressed, with David Vescey from the New York Times noting, “I fully expect to hear more from this band as the years go on.” and the U.K.’s Maverick Magazine calling it “A blistering energetic debut.”

The five covers and an original song on their most recent recording the EP, “Afterparty”, crackle with newfound clarity. Among the covers is an accordion – drenched take on Mississippi John Hurt’s “Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me”; “Strollin’ Down The Highway”, a funked-up Bert Jansch cover kicked into gear by drums, bass and banjo; a version of Huey Lewis and the News’ “The Power of Love” with a street-corner doo-wop vibe; and “Hang Me”, a punk-grass take on the traditional song made famous by Dave Van Ronk and the Grateful Dead. The original, “Anita, Your Lovin'”, is an ode to a love that left for Providence, Rhode Island, sounding like a ’50s boy group at a front porch sing-a-long.

In 2014, the band changed its name from Poor Old Shine to Parsonsfield and gained an unexpected creative advantage. The new name was born of the inspired experiences recording two albums in beautiful, rural Parsonsfield, Maine, at Great North Sound Society, Kassirer’s farmhouse studio/retreat. It was there they met their drummer Hischmann, who was working as Kassirer’s assistant engineer.

“We owe a lot to what happened there,” said Freeman of their time at Great North. “Our sound really changed when Erik joined … it pulled us from being a more traditional string band to something that felt much more uniquely ourselves. It made us the band we are today.”

As for the name change, it was certainly unusual. It was a difficult decision but they learned that, to some, their old name carried an association with an antiquated derogatory expression. But then the change sparked an unexpected musical leap.

“It gives us more freedom to explore different genres and styles without having the burden of expectation,” says Freeman. “Many people thought Poor Old Shine was a reference to moonshine, and thus assumed we were an Appalachian or bluegrass band. It’s an opportunity to explore our own music with greater clarity.”

The band has traveled many miles since their early days of making handmade CD packaging from old cereal boxes, to currently wowing crowds at prestigious festivals including Edmonton, Ottawa, and the Philadelphia Folk Festival.

The group formed at the University of Connecticut, where agriculture student Freeman met paper artist Alcorn in a folk music club on campus. With the addition of Shakun and Goodale, the band began writing music influenced by old American songs, and bands from The Carter Family to the Avett Brothers. They also began adding unconventional and sometimes homemade instruments to their stage arsenal (electric fan, gourd piano, salt shaker, saw, and bike wheel, to name a few). They cemented their lineup by adding Hischmann in 2013 when they recorded their first album in Parsonsfield, Maine.

“The last few years feel very surreal and it’s hard to imagine what’ll come next,” says Freeman. “We’re just really excited with the opportunities we’ve had and the people we’ve gotten to meet. We just want to keep living this dream.”

The Mainstay (Home of Musical Magic) is the friendly informal storefront performing arts center on Rock Hall’s old time Main Street.