Although bluegrass and folk music might not be the average student’s first choice for entertainment, to Lansing-based group The Whiskey Pickers, that doesn’t matter.
“Most people are receptive to bluegrass even when they don’t think they will be,” said mandolin player and graduate student Brian Bienkowski. “It’s fun to watch people play instruments you don’t see (typically).”
The Whiskey Pickers performed along with local acts The Leper Colony and Billiards Music at 9 p.m. Saturday at Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing, headlining for their first time at the venue after about seven months of playing only as an opening act.
“It’s a long time coming,” said jazz studies junior Ryan Freitas, an upright bass player and vocalist.
The performance included cover songs as well as several original works, which had themes such as Ingham County, rivers and whiskey.
“We just thought bluegrass should be simple,” Bienkowski said. “(Our music) is more melody than lyrics.”
Bienkowski said the group formed about four years ago when he and lead vocalist and guitarist Roger Tijerina, an MSU alumnus, played together under the name The Dusty String Duo.
Within the last year, the band has gained a new name and grown to include Freitas and musical performance sophomore Brian VanAntwerp, a fiddler.
According to band members, The Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan influenced their initial interest in bluegrass and folk music.
The name The Whiskey Pickers was chosen because of the members’ love of whiskey, Bienkowski said.
“We like drinking whiskey, and it goes well with bluegrass (music),” Bienkowski said.
But VanAntwerp said he didn’t help come up with the name — he’s the only member of the band not yet old enough to drink.
True to their name, several members of The Whiskey Pickers chose whiskey as a refreshment mid-show and on stage.
Apparel and textile design junior Jamie Crawford, who is a friend of Freitas and VanAntwerp and attended Saturday’s performance, said that although she doesn’t typically listen to bluegrass music, The Whiskey Pickers are an act she enjoys.
“I think the band has good chemistry,” she said. “You can groove to it. You appreciate it.”
Mac’s Bar employee Nic Bouldin said the crowd of about 50 attendees was a decent size for a performance of this genre of music.
“It’s always a select group for these shows,” Bouldin said.
This audience seemed to enjoy the performance — clapping, dancing dosey-doe style and drinking throughout the night.
“It’s the pinnacle of the college music experience,” attendee and cognitive science senior Michael Donlin said.
The band plays locally at venues such as Mac’s Bar and The Loft, 414 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing, although it mostly performs in backyards and at barbecues, Bienkowski said.
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The group also is hoping to play several festivals this summer.
“The goal is to make it in the Michigan acoustic music scene, and we’re hoping to cut an album,” Tijerina said.
“(But) we’re not quitting our day jobs.”
