Touring Test

Built on more than 15 years of tradition, today’s Hillfolk takes their acoustic guitar, double bass, and “anything you can find at a hardware store” sound and integrates driving drums and an electrified sound, kicking down limitations to create a vibe that goes beyond their Americana “junkerdash” roots. Want to call it bluegrass’s trouble-making cousin? Fine by us. A bit of string-band blues? Sure ‘nuff. A concoction of electrified rockin’ soulful folksy witchcraft mayhem? Now you’re talking, mama. The indelible through-line is rooted in the band’s song craftsmanship. From mountains of frontman Travis Ward’s ragged, spiral-bound notebooks comes the hard and tender. They can blow the roof off the place or draw you around the fire with their earnest musical narratives of the back alleys, the open range, and the front porch. They paint with sound the earnest stories about the lives of lovers, law-breakers, and the lion-hearted. Heroes and outcasts alike. Hailing from Boise, Idaho, the always young-at-heart Hillfolk Noir has been carving their own musical path for 15 years. Grab a cup of juice and ease on down to enjoy these newfound Hillfolk vibes. “If John Steinbeck owned a speakeasy,” said John Doe (X, the Knitters), “Hillfolk Noir would be the house band.”