Sons of Ralph plays a monthly residency at Jack of the Wood in Asheville, N.C. Photo: Jay Coble
Sons of Ralph have the spirit of legend behind them. Band leader and family patriarch Ralph Lewis played with the late “Father of Bluegrass” Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys in the early 1970s, touring internationally and making numerous appearances on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.
These days, though, the 83-year-old Lewis steps beyond the bounds of tradition in his expansive acoustic outfit with sons Marty (guitar) and Don (fiddle and mandolin).
Based in Asheville, N.C., Sons of Ralph formed back in 1997 with the sole intention of getting family members together to play music. Soon after the band’s inception, a then-new brewpub in Asheville, Jack of the Wood, opened. Marty Lewis knew the owners and volunteered to play on the pub’s tiny stage with his new band. Fourteen years later, Sons of Ralph still holds a monthly residency at the venue, and their shows have become legendary, attracting audiences from across the country.
“It’s our home base,” says Marty Lewis. “People still e-mail us, asking when we’re playing Jack of the Wood to plan their vacations around it.”
With the addition of cousin Steve Moseley on bass and Ozzie Orengo Jr. on drums, the group regularly packs the house with a rowdy brand of Americana combining traditional bluegrass with the edgier elements of country rock.
“Dad was always playing straight bluegrass, but my brother and I were playing a broader range of stuff,” Marty says. “By adding an electric bass and drums, we realized we could play any kind of music.”
As youngsters, the Lewis boys learned how to play from weekly jam sessions that Ralph hosted at their childhood home in the shadow of Mount Pisgah.
“All the best musicians from the area would show up, and they took it seriously,” Marty adds. “We’d fall asleep and still hear banjos playing.”
Soon the grade-school-age boys were on the road with their dad and the legendary Monroe, who would call them out to the stage every night to play a song or two. As they grew up, Marty went on to work with Chubby Wise, Kenny Baker, and Vassar Clements, while Don has played with Rhonda Vincent and recorded with Warren Haynes and Doc Watson.
Coming back to play with their father has proven to be a wise move, as Sons of Ralph remains one of the most popular groups on the regional mountain music scene. The group entered the studio in late spring to record their sixth album, and they plan to hold court indefinitely at Jack of the Wood.
With Ralph Lewis recently being given a clean bill of health, the group also has tentative plans to tour around the South in the near future. In the last six years the elder Lewis has beaten four types of cancer and recovered from falling off a ladder.
“It’s taken a little bit out of him, but he hasn’t lost much of a step,” says Marty. “He’s still a fireball.”
Rollin’ in the Hay • Alabama With sweat-drenched shows described aptly by a fan as the “best five-dollar concert you will ever see,” Rollin’ in the Hay has worked the Dixie college circuit since the mid-1990s with a self-dubbed brand of renegade bluegrass. The band’s lengthy live catalog features quirky originals and Southern-fried covers of the Grateful Dead, The Band, and many more. With raggedly infectious mandolin and guitar picking, the band delivers whisky-fueled, high-octane groove grass that’s still the soundtrack to late-night revelry at ‘Bama’s best bars and beach dives.
Hogwaller Ramblers • Virginia If you find yourself in Charlottesville, Va., on a Sunday night, catch this local outfit at the downtown bar and restaurant Fellini’s #9. The two-decade town institution puts the best of Americana in a blender and delivers rowdy, rough-around-edges live shows full of rock-driven bluegrass jams. Still fronted by gruff troubadour Jamie Dyer, the band’s rotating cast brings fiddle, banjo, and electric guitar groove to their loud hoedowns. The Hogs released one album in 1998 that was produced by high-profile studio ace John Alagia (Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer). While the group never toured excessively or reached a wider audience worthy of their potential, they still deliver reliable, foot-stompin’ good times on a weekly basis.
Davisson Brothers Band • West Virginia
Lead by brothers Chris and Donnie Davisson, this West Virginia-based country rock outfit has gained a loyal regional fan base by touring with reckless abandon across the Mountain State and just beyond its borders. With a tireless work ethic, the band has been conquering the club and festival circuit since the mid-1990s with heartfelt Southern anthems amped up with barn-shaking hillbilly bravado. While Chris takes care of the hearty lead guitar work, Donnie handles the vocals, harmonizing with their cousin Sammy Davisson (bass). After years on the road, the band finally released a studio album in 2009. The self-titled Davisson Brothers Band cracked the top 40 of the country charts, propelled by lead single “Foot Stompin’.” While the establishment couldn’t help take notice of the group’s prowess, they’re most comfortable playing for home-state crowds in the Appalachian hills.