#andy falco

[krispyweiss]

Song Review: The Infamous Stringdusters - “Light at the End of the Day”

“Light at the End of the Day” is a search for hope amid hopelessness.

Single No. 3 from the Infamous Stringdusters’ 20/20 (Jan. 23, 2026) has an uptempo, bluegrass soundtrack and an upbeat take on life even when life knocks one down.

When the days seem dark/and the sun hangs like a stone/the crowds of people/make me feel so alone/I find myself on mountain/way up high/trying to forget the way/she said goodbye, Dobro man Andy Hall sings.

That’s where the titular light comes in. And when the ’Dusters collectively sing of it, it seems believable.

And for the doubters, Jeremy Garrett tacks on a solo-fiddle coda that represents that light exquisitely.

A little corny, but ultimately refreshing, “Light at the End of the Day” follows “Dead Man Walking” and “Working Man’s Blues” from the forthcoming LP.

Grade card: The Infamous Stringdusters - “Light at the End of the Day” - B-

10/27/25

[krispyweiss]

Song Review: The Infamous Stringdusters - "Longclaw" (Live, Feb. 11, 2026)

“Longclaw” allows the Infamous Stringdusters to demonstrate reverence for bluegrass tradition and their willingness to turn said tradition on its headstock.

As performed Feb. 11 at the quintet’s 20/20 album-release show in Tennessee and just released on video, the instrumental “Longclaw” blends ensemble playing with quicksilver solos, tempo shifts and short, ethereal interludes that might puzzle bluegrass’ founders.

Bassist Travis Book holds down while banjoist Chris Pandolfi, fiddler Jeremy Garrett, Dobroist Andy Hall and guitarist Andy Falco burn up their respective instruments. It’s loose, but bound up with 20 years of tightness that comes to be fore with every downshift; every pass of the sonic baton.

It could almost be mistaken for a contemporary of any number of old-school reels. Almost. For the ’Dusters bring something fresh to the tradition - keeping it alive and expanding its reach.

Grade card: The Infamous Stringdusters - "Longclaw" (Live - 2/11/26) - A

Read Sound Bites’ 20/20 review here.

5/14/26

[krispyweiss]

Song Review: The Infamous Stringdusters - “Once You’re Gone” (Live, Jan. 11, 2025)

The Infamous Stringdusters really should be more famous.

In less that three minutes of “Once You’re Gone,” as captured on professional video Jan. 11 in Colorado, the quintet makes peace with a tough breakup; demonstrates pristine, three-part harmony; packs in guitar, Dobro and banjo solos; and plays ensemble bluegrass music as tight as anyone can.

It’s therefore a mystery why the ’Dusters aren’t mentioned among the Billy Stringes and Molly Tuttles of the world. Sure, they’re Infamous, but the Stringdusters deserve fame alongside the infamy.

Grade card: The Infamous Stringdusters - “Once You’re Gone” (Live - 1/11/25) - A

2/4/25

[krispyweiss]

Song Review: The Infamous Stringdusters - “Possum”

Call it the Infamous Phish-dusters.

Otherwise known as the Stringdusters, the Infamous bluegrass quintet makes Phish’s “Possum” sound even more like the Grateful Dead’s “Cumberland Blues” as it announces its Undercover, Vol. 3 EP.

And it works out quite well - much better than the band’s previously released remake of Harry Styles’ “As it Was” - with strong harmonies and a swirl of banjo, fiddle, Dobro, guitar and bass smoothing out the requisite roadkill silliness.

Out Nov. 13, Undercover 3 also includes the ’Dusters’ takes on the Grateful Dead’s “Touch of Grey,” Avicii’s “Wake Me Up,” the Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like an Eagle” and ZZ Top’s “Sharped Dress Man.”

“You are gonna want to hear what these songs sound like bluegrass-style,” the band said in a statement.

Grade card: The Infamous Stringdusters - “Possum” - B

9/25/24

[krispyweiss]

Song Review: The Infamous Stringdusters feat. Anders Osborne - “Those Lonely, Lonely Nights”

The Infamous Stringdusters and Anders Osborne added some ’grass, but took away none of blue on their cover of “Those Lonely, Lonely Nights.”

It’s a slow-roller played on instruments made for fast-pickin’. But incongruities must be damned when these divergent artists cross-pollinate and combine dichotomous genres into something new.

With Osborne on vocals and the ’Dusters popping in with Dobro, fiddle, acoustic guitar and banjo solos, the track honors Earl King’s original, Osborne’s iconoclastic roots and the band’s string tradition.

Covering all the bases is one thing. Doing it without leaving home is another. And the way Osborne smacks the song out of the park with the mic stand is yet another.

Grade card: The Infamous Stringdusters feat. Anders Osborne - “Those Lonely, Lonely Nights” - A

5/8/24

[krispyweiss]

Song Review(s): The Infamous Stringdusters - “Let it Go” and “Rise Sun” (Killington Gondola Session)

The Infamous Stringdusters don’t need no stinkin’ studio.

Crammed into a gondola at Winter Fest, the quintet prove their sound is simply the product of their talent.

The resulting video will take listeners higher than any ski lift.

Accompanying themselves with acoustic guitar and handclaps, the five ’Dusters sing two of the most spiritually minded in their discography with “Let it Go” and “Rise Sun.”

The homemade recording sounds like a studio production with gospel/bluegrass voices blended like a perfectly mixed drink - intoxicating and delicious but with no hangover.

No wonder the ’Dusters chuckle in satisfaction when it’s finished.

Listeners will, too.

Grade card: The Infamous Stringdusters - “Let it Go” and “Rise Sun” (Killington Gondola Session) - A+/A

2/24/23

[krispyweiss]

Song Review: The Infamous Stringdusters - “Down the Road”

Perfect harmonies and flawless playing help establish the Infamous Stringdusters’ reverence for Flatt & Scruggs on the former’s remake of the latter’s “Down the Road.”

The track was “a staple of the Flatt & Scruggs canon and one they recorded early in their career,” Andy Hall said in a statement. “It has what we like to refer to in the bluegrass world as ‘drive.’ Not too fast, but powerful.”

Indeed. And the ’Dusters bolster that drive as each player - Hall on Dobro, guitarist Andy Falco, banjoist Chris Pandolfi, fiddler Jeremy Garrett and bassist Travis Book - gets in his licks after they announce the song with:

Down the down/down the road/got a little pretty gal down the road

The track follows “I’d Rather be Alone” ahead of the A Tribute to Flatt & Scruggs, the six-track EP arriving April 21.

Grade card: The Infamous Stringdusters - “Down the Road” - A

3/15/23

[krispyweiss]

Song Review: The Infamous Stringdusters with Midnight North - “Shakedown Street” (Live, Nov. 11, 2022)

With Andy Falco, Elliott Peck and Grahame Lesh trading verses and acoustic instrumentation meshing with electric varieties, the Infamous Stringdusters and Midnight North became a single band when they covered “Shakedown Street” Nov. 11, 2022, in Montana.

Just released on professional video, the performance hits its peak with the mid-song jam that pits guitarist Falco against his Dobro-playing bandmate Andy Hall for a six-string duel that speaks to the elasticity of Jerry Garcia’s compositions.

While that seems to have been improvised in real time, there was clearly some rehearsal beforehand as the vocal coda is funky and in harmony with more than a half-dozen voices singing as many different parts and still sounding like a single entity - the Infamous Grateful Midnight Deadsters of the North, perhaps?

Grade card: The Infamous Stringdusters with Midnight North - “Shakedown Street” (Live - 11/11/22) - B+

5/15/23