Ever since the Dusters lost Jesse on the mandolin, I’ve been hard pressed to find any other good six piece bluegrass bands. Five members is great, but something about having a mandolin, banjo, guitar, fiddle, bass and dobro together on one stage really gets me going. Anyone have any suggestions for me to check out? They would be much appreciated.
It’s a hard one to think of for sure! Every time I have a suggestion, I always say oh damn they only have 5… 5 must be a magic number. But before the Hackensaw Boys latest member breakup they had 6 members. Two guitar, one on charisma, one on bass, one banjo and a fiddle player. But who knows what they will have this year.
The Lil Smokies are the only six piece band I know of at the moment, but they’re guitar player doesn’t solo, which I find unfortunate. Their dobro player is wonderful, however. If a band has a good dobro player, I’m won over immediately.
Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver :medal
Doyle Lawson - Mandolin
Josh Swift - Dobro
Jason Barie - Fiddle
Joe Dean - Banjo
Dustin Pyrtle - Guitar
Eli Johnston - Bass
http://doylelawson.com/
I should have known you’d have a suggestion, Dayton. I’ll check them out!
Yeah I don’t know what it is about not wanting 6 members! The sounds of a dobro, mando, banjo, guitar, bass, fiddle are so amazingly wonderful! Maybe this is a hint for bands to start playing with 6 people for now on!
I know the Acoustic All-Stars are a 6 piece band, but they’re allstars!
Tony Rice - Guitar
Sam Bush - Mandolin
Jerry Douglas - Dobro
Bela Fleck - Banjo
Stuart Duncan - Fiddle
Mark Schatz - Bass
Same with the Telluride House Band.
Sam Bush - Mandolin
Brian Sutton - Guitar
Bela Fleck - Banjo
Edgar Meyer - Bass
Jerry Douglass - Dobro
And a rotating slew of fiddlers, usually Stuart Duncan or Luke Bulla
Kentucky Thunder rolls 6 if you don’t count Ricky Skaggs 
I think a lot of bands would be even better then they already are if they had 6 members/instruments! A lot more nice sounds to add to the mix!
As much as I still like them I have to admit, the Dusters were better with 6.
I think they could benefit from having a mandolin player, but I actually like them more now. I like that they’ve been moving further away from the traditional sound and more to a jamgrass type of sound. The most recent album is my favorite of theirs. Either that or the live album when Jesse was still a member.
Oh man, I couldn’t agree more. That live album is killer.
I’ve only been listening to them for the last 2-3 years now and have seen them live I think 8 times and didn’t even know they had 6 members and a lineup change prior to until talking to people who have been following the band awhile. I like the fact that they have changed styles since then, and have kept most members and even play a lot of the songs they used to. I love the fact that they are moving towards the jamgrass sound, and it is crazy to see how popular and amazing they are becoming! When most people don’t realize they’ve been around awhile :lol Can’t wait to see what there newest album will sound like :thumbsup
I think most bands would love to have 6 members, the problem is finding someone who can handle the Dobro.
Yup, It’s almost one of those things where if you can’t handle it then you shouldn’t even start
Which also begs the question, “Why don’t the Dusters find a mando player?” They clearly don’t need one as they have been kicking more ass then ever, but when listening to them, you sometimes just really want to hear that mando solo. They’re still my favorite band in the world, but the best show I ever attended of theirs saw Drew Emmit sit in with them for a few songs.
Yes!! I have been asking myself this same question for awhile now, the only thing people might say is that it might not mesh off the bat, but give it a few shows and they would be even more killer! I love mandolin, and I feel anyone who plays who totally want to play with them if they got the chance, or at least this year they should have a lot of mando sit ins.
What show was that from Hot Sugar? I wanna check it out
June 21, 2013. It was their nightgrass show from this past year. I have yet to find a recording other than the one available for stream on their website. http://thestringdusters.com/site/archive/
Sweet thanks! Yeah I haven’t found many recordings of Nightgrass shows over the years except SCI’s from last year. I love the showhive too! It’s a shame they don’t release soundboards for fans like so many others do, oh well in time! :thumbsup
I’d definitely throw down $10-$15 for the soundboards of some of those shows.