BEST AMERICANA/FOLK BAND

The Blue Gs

Along with the huge national scene of groups creating and performing music based in folk, blues and country, our fair city has its share of the wide-ranging genre termed “Americana.” There are more acoustic instruments in electric bands than ever before and Springfield is no exception. The Micah Walk Band scored highest in this category even though the band hasn’t performed together in a couple of years. Our perceptive and bright readers knew The Blue Gs now have Mr. Walk as a full-fledged member and the acoustic sextet emerged as our clear-cut best. Members Walk, Shane Bumgarner (banjo, vocals), Gary Fifer (mandolin), Jeff Cunningham (bass), Jonathan Field (guitar, fiddle, vocals) and here and there member Josh Parr (fiddle, vocals) play an intrepid mix of bluegrass-flavored tunes from Led Zeppelin to John Hartford, with enough cool originals to warrant one full-length CD and have another in the works. Folk on! Runner-up: Tom Irwin’s Hayburners