The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
In 10 years as a band, The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys have covered a lot of miles. Their love of bluegrass — playing it, sharing it, growing it — has been the fuel for their remarkable journey through every corner of America and into the hearts of fans drawn to their hard-charging, true-blue sound.
“We live what we play and sing about,” says bandleader C.J. Lewandowski. Indeed, the band has weathered their fair share of the highs and lows that bluegrass songs are known for (except for the murders, of course). They’ve been road-weary, longing for home. They’ve felt the heartbreak of band members leaving and embraced the joy of welcoming new ones. They’ve worked hard to see their dreams come true, playing on some of music’s most celebrated stages. And they’ve been nominated for a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album (2019’s Toil, Tears & Trouble) and for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year award.
Amid all their travels, The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys have seen every nook and cranny of the country, met people from all walks of life, and kept a keen eye toward the truth, which rings out loud and clear in the songs they write. “Wanderers Like Me,” the title track from their most recent album and the band’s first No. 1 song on the Bluegrass Unlimited chart, shoots straight from the heart: “Wanderers like me don’t settle down for no one / don’t mind being lonesome, chasing dreams is all I ever need.”
Lately, they’ve been chasing their dreams in a new configuration, one that expands the band’s age span and geographical roots. Guitarist John Gooding from California and fiddle player Max Silverstein from “the great bluegrass state of Maine,” as the band likes to say during onstage introductions, are the newest additions, both in their 20s. They join Lewandowski on mandolin, Jereme Brown on banjo, and Jasper Lorentzen on bass, relative elders in their 30s.
Lewandowski describes this new chapter for the band as one of “expansion and growth.” There’s a new energy to the group onstage, with appreciative glances and the occasional good-natured laugh between them as they play. They’re listening to each other and responding. And audience members feel like part of the conversation.
The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys have always been known for barreling bluegrass forward, and as they move into their second decade as a band, they’re maintaining that momentum, both onstage and in the studio. Lewandowski envisions the band’s next project as “kicking it back to the beginning and cutting a record that is solid damn ’grass.” And then, of course, they’ll take it right back on the road, living what they sing about and sharing it with others, just the way they like it.
“We take bluegrass and put it where bluegrass isn’t,” says Lewandowski. “It’s not about putting music that is different into bluegrass music to attract more people.”