The 23 String Band brings feverish youthful energy to the stage during their live performances, as evidenced during their appearance at the 2013 Festival of the Bluegrass at the Kentucky Horse Park, but don’t be fooled by their age. To hear them play you’d think they had been playing together for decades.
Based out of Louisville, the quintet includes guitarist Chris Shouse, who brings a soulful passion to the mic as lead vocalist; Curtis Wilson on banjo, who takes playing cues from Dave “Stringbean” Akeman; mandolinist Dave Howard, who has sat in with a number of fine musicians such as Vince Herman, Little Sadie, and the Louisville Mandolin Orchestra; highly decorated violinst Scott More, who had performed at Carnegie Hall as well as five continents; and bassist T. Martin Stam, who has studied classical jazz with luminaries from Yo Yo Ma to Wynton Marsalis.
The band’s original compositions hoot and holler through timeless bluegrass motifs, while their stellar instrumentation and musical arrangements give The 23 String Band a level of professionalism and authenticity that isn’t easily attained. The band released their second album, “Catch 23,” in 2011. The group’s third album, “23SB,” came out in August 2014.
