Henhouse Prowlers thrill Ironwood Theatre

By P.J. GLISSON

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Ironwood - Bluegrass music is known for high energy and infectious sound, and that's exactly what filled the Historic Ironwood Theatre when the Henhouse Prowlers performed last weekend.

The four-member Chicago band wasted no time in riling up the audience with one fast-paced tune after another in a Saturday night concert that did not disappoint.

The band's harmony was generous, pure and hypnotic, but the guys also took turns in solos, while interspersing their unique voices with occasional instrumental sprints that nicely showcased their immense string skills.

The crowd came ready to love - some aptly wearing cowboy hats - and not only supplied a steady stream of claps, whistles and screams of delight that blended seamlessly with the tunes, as though an organic component of the performance.

By the end of the night, some folks gave way to dancing in front of the stage while beaming with joy.

"This is our very first time in the U.P.," said Ben Wright, the band's founder and banjo player. He's also the band's program director and acted as the emcee for the evening. "We had pasties, and they were delicious. Thank you all for making us feel so welcome."

The guys sang everything from their own well-received compositions to the 1973 song "Midnight Flyer" by the Osborne Brothers. Wright said the song is one of their favorites even though he noted that the Osborne Brothers were criticized for not being truly bluegrass due to their use of drums and amplified sound.

In other songs, the band also showcased the influence it has undergone from years of global travel in association with the U.S. State Department.

Wright explained that such travels began in the middle of the previous century when the United States sent "jazz ambassadors" such as Louis Armstrong and Dave Brubeck to tour parts of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe in hopes of improving cultural relations.

According to Wright, the people involved with the program learned quickly that "musicians are the best diplomats in the world."

Hence, such initiatives continued, and members of the Henhouse Prowlers began to work as similar cultural ambassadors in 2013.

"We've been to 28 countries as American diplomats," said Wright of the band's work with the U.S. State Department. "We've had a million adventures."

While visiting a variety of places, the men also have had the opportunity to meet up with musicians in foreign locales, thus exchanging techniques.

"We had this repertoire of music from around the world," said Wright, which he said eventually culminated in new experiments and compositions.

The band demonstrated the resulting fusion, in part, by singing a Kenyan love song in which they took turns at the mic.

They also sang one of their own new songs called "Gospel in Review," which was inspired by time spent in Saudi Arabia. Despite the integral nature of their instruments in their general act, they sang the entirety of the song acapella, ending with the line "We are all just human beings. No one's better than the rest."

The applause was huge on both counts.

In order to share even more with the public, Wright said that band members also started a nonprofit program called "Bluegrass Ambassadors" that allows them to provide educational programs and workshops and an online curriculum that help to intersect music and culture from around the world. More information is at Bluegrass ambassadors.org.

After receiving a standing ovation and granting an encore, the band - which includes bass player Jon Goldfine, guitarist Chris Dollar and Jake Howard on mandolin - met with members of the public after the concert.