Local and traditional bluegrass band The Sylvan Dell Stragglers will be performing live at The Community Arts Center Capitol Lounge on Thursday, March 2.

The local band, which has been together since spring 2021, will be playing the night of the Steep Canyon Rangers performance.

“We play traditional bluegrass instruments and songs, but with a progressive curiosity,” said Chris Carithers, guitarist and vocalist. “We like to put our signature on the material by stretching it out and experimenting. We infuse a little funk, jazz, Celtic and psychedelia into these folk and bluegrass songs.”

The four members, Carithers, Tom Derone, Levi Stover and Seth Nolan have all been involved in the Williamsport music scene for years.

Stover, Derone and Nolan had already been playing together during meetups when a scheduling mix-up brought them to Carithers.

“Levi started having these big meet-ups at his house in the Sylvan Dell, and people would play around a bonfire late into the next morning. It got more serious when we brought this downtown by playing a regular house band gig,” said Nolan, mandolin player. “We had an accidental chance to jam with Chris at one of those gigs, and his interest in what we were doing and the sound he added was exciting.”

“We decided to jam together, and it felt natural immediately,” Caithers said.

The band often performs at different bars and restaurants in the area.

“We’ve been working hard and have built a growing following of friends and close fans who always show out and support us and appreciate what we’re trying to do in the local bluegrass scene,” Nolan said.

“Tom’s role as a restaurateur, (he) owns Derone’s Dynamite Dogs in the Williamsport area, gives us a good reputation with bars,” Carithers said. “We’ve recently been able to develop that into a little community of folks that will come out to our own self-promoted events.”

Although the band plays around with different genres, they stay true to bluegrass.

“No matter how far we evolve throughout a night, we still play like we did at those parties in the Dell. We might add drums or effects pedals and we like to branch out into more jam-centric moments with improvising, but we stay true to our roots in bluegrass,” said Stover, bassist.

“Some nights might start a set with stripped down acoustic just like we did in the Sylvan Dell and some nights we have our good friend Jordan Sedlock play drums with us and we have a more electric and upbeat dance-y sound,” Stover said.

“The CAC supports that scene with national acts like the Steep Canyon Rangers. It’s exciting to be the local contribution to an act that big. It’s a chance for more people to hear us, and people who are already there to hear progressive bluegrass,” Nolan said.

To learn more about The Sylvan Dell Stragglers and their upcoming performances, visit them at www.facebook.com/SylvanDellStragglers or on Instagram @sylvandellstagglers.