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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

arts

Bluegrass and country stars to take Buskirk stage

Two of bluegrass and country’s biggest stars will be at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater on Sunday night as a part of a mini-tour they are taking without their bands.

Aoife O’Donovan, of bands such as Crooked Still and Sometymes Why, and Noam Pikelny, of Punch Brothers, will be performing together out of their usual elements, said Rebecca Stanze, associate director of the Buskirk-Chumley ?Theater.

“They’re both coming from groups that are pretty well-known,” she said.

Stanze said the two groups have a similar style, but the O’Donovan-Pikelny duo has a sound all its own, creating a different kind of bluegrass experience.

“I think it’s going to be a fabulous evening,” she said.

When she saw Punch Brothers, Stanze said the energy of the group was incredible. O’Donovan and Pikelny have a similar feeling.

Stanze said O’Donovan and Pikelny had crossed paths at multiple venues and, after developing a connection, decided to go on tour together.

“She’s an old musical friend of mine,” Pikelny said.

Pikelny said one of the best things to do as an instrumentalist is to back up a great singer, like O’Donovan.

“Aoife O’Donovan has always been one of my favorite singers in the world,” Pikelny said.

They definitely won’t sound like their respective groups, Stanze said.

“It’s a brand new combination,” Pikelny said, adding that he and O’Donovan will be performing with fiddler and vocalist Shad Cobb and bassist Barry Bales.

Pikelny said his personal style is far more bluegrass-based and instrumentally focused than his work with the Punch Brothers.

“Bluegrass is just a huge part of my identity,” he said.

Pikelny said he always sees friendly faces when he performs in Bloomington. He has been coming to the southern Indiana area since he was in college at the University of Illinois.

He said his most recent album specifically references the area with songs like “Road to Colombus,” which refers to Colombus, Ind., and “Brown County Breakdown,” the location of a bluegrass festival Pikelny frequented.

“I always enjoy playing in Bloomington,” he said.

This show is an opportunity to see people perform together that people may never see together again, Stanze said.

She said lovers of both O’Donovan and Pikelny’s bands should know the pair is representing each band’s style of music.

Tickets are still available in the orchestra and the balcony, Stanze said. They are already halfway sold out and expect a lot of sales closer to the show.

“People have been very excited about it,” Stanze said.

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