Jeff Scroggins
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Jeff Scroggins is a two-time national banjo champion who has followed the banjo wherever it took him. When he discovered the instrument and met his mentor, Alan Munde, he was living on a dairy farm in Oklahoma, where he sold his Les Paul guitar, dropped out of high school, and traded Jimmie Page for J.D. Crowe. He eventually mastered his own powerfully expressive style; a combination of Rock showmanship and bluegrass tradition. His life as a banjo player led him across the West working as everything from Dixie Chicks side man to civil engineer, and he eventually settled in Denver, Colorado and started his own band. His band, Jeff Scroggins & Colorado, is now an IBMA award nominated multi-generational, multi-coastal, internationally touring bluegrass band. The band is comprised of 5 could-be-frontmen/women, who have each dedicated their lives to the traditions and evolution of bluegrass music. Despite their individual star power, they present a coherent show which at no point focuses too heavily on any one member. Rather, much like your favorite cult classic film, there is more to notice every time you watch this unassuming but undeniable super group.
The band was originally formed when Jeff, seeking a way to perform with his son, Tristan, saw his chance when he met West Virginia native and fellow lifetime musician Greg Blake. These two powerhouses discovered an immediate connection despite their apparent differences (Greg a preacher and Jeff a long-haired would-be rock God with a banjo): they both loved to play bluegrass the way they’d grown up hearing it. Now, nine years later, the five members of the band live in five different states, but they are handily able to maintain a well-practiced repertoire thanks to their non-stop touring schedule.Traveling nearly 300 days a year (and 20,000 miles this July alone), the band the band have no shortage of chances to refine their performances. Their shows are a visually and sonically compelling mixture of full-tilt personality, energy, and dynamic subtlety, with the comfortable self-effacing intimacy they would have around a generous fan’s campfire.
Over the Line is the second single from the band’s forthcoming album of the same name. This will be the band’s first record with Patuxent Music and is set to be released in January 2019. This song, written by Steve Poltz and Molly Tuttle, captures the hypnotic feeling of inevitably over extending oneself physically, mentally, and emotionally while on the road. A feeling all too familiar to Jeff Scroggins and his band of road warriors.