It may not seem like it now, but during their time, the #SeldomScene were a groundbreaking #bluegrass act. Their willingness to cover rock songs and contemporary material was antithetical to the bluegrass gatekeepers of the time.
They also kept their day jobs. "Seldom Scene" was coined because at first they only played once a week and didn’t stray too far from their Washington D.C. home base.
Their influence on later bands and newgrass in general is undeniable.
Being a progressive bluegrass act they could rub some people the wrong way. I had to reprimand John Duffey once for being too vulgar on stage. (It was the Bishop’s Bluegrass Festival for goodness sake!)
They had a well-developed sense of fun, instrumental and vocal prowess, and high-quality output during an important time in bluegrass. "Live at the Cellar Door" was a landmark live album as well. All of this makes them an all-time great band.
@aburtch duffey really didn't get it and he alienated a lot of people with his crude jokes over the years. I genuinely think this was a limiting factor on their popularity bc he offended both religious folks on the trad side and anyone with feminist convictions on the progressive side. That aside they certainly were both excellent performers and important for the reasons you mention. The 1973 album was one of the great early newgrass signposts.
@mrcompletely Exactly! Duffey had no ability to “read the room” and even after I said something, he didn’t change his approach. It got them uninvited the following year.
@aburtch oh they were smoking hot. There's something about their rhythm feel which I don't like quite as much as some of the other great newgrass bands but it's a matter of degree
@mrcompletely@aburtch Love Seldom Scene.
Got on to them when I first heard “Rider” which Dr. Starling introduced despite some reluctance among the band. Now I have all of their 70s output on vinyl.
John Starling sure did have a great voice.
R.I.P. Ben Eldridge who recently passed.
I believe Tom Gray is the only original member still with us.
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