When the Punch Brothers take the Summer Stage at the Tree House Brewing Company in South Deerfield on Tuesday, July 21 at 7 p.m., audiences will have the chance to hear the progressive string band as they embark on a new era. This show will mark the band’s first local show with their new band member, violinist Brittany Haas. The Punch Brothers will also provide the audience with a preview of their upcoming all-instrumental album, “The Unsung Adventures of the Punch Brothers,” which will be released on Nonesuch Records on July 24.
The Punch Brothers are a virtuosic quintet featuring Chris Thile on mandolin, Chris Eldridge on guitar, Paul Kowert on bass, Noam Pikelny on banjo and Haas on violin.
Thile, who first caught the public’s attention when he joined the progressive bluegrass band Nickel Creek at the age of 8, formed Punch Brothers in 2006. Bassist Kowert was the last to come on board, joining the group in 2008 when he was attending the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied under his mentor, bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer.
The Punch Brothers quickly established themselves as one of the most exciting acoustic string bands working today, drawing from their various influences to move far beyond the confines of bluegrass to create new and exciting music. The band released six acclaimed albums and won a Grammy for Best Folk Album for “All Ashore” in 2018.
Fiddler Gabe Witcher left the band in 2023, and Haas joined the group at that time. Haas was also a member of Hawktail along with Kowert.
I recently caught up with Kowert via a Zoom call from his home in Nashville to talk about Haas joining the Punch Brothers and this new chapter in their career.
“We have all known Brittany for a very long time — she is a very singular artist,” Kowert said. “She made her first album when she was 16 years old. We are the same age, even though she is from California and I am from Wisconsin. I learned most of the tunes on her record,” he said, reflecting on his long musical history with Haas. Kowert also worked with Haas in Dave Rawlings’ band.
But it wasn’t only his extensive experience with Haas that led to her joining the Punch Brothers. Kowert went on to explain that his bandmates also have a history of playing with her.
“When Chris Thile hosted the weekly public radio variety show ‘Live From Here,’ Haas was the resident fiddle player,” Kowert told me. “Chris Eldridge produced the first two Hawktail albums and Noam and Chris have worked with her too. When Gabe was sick with COVID, she stepped in and saved the Punch Brothers. There are things she can do on a fiddle that nobody else can.”
Haas was mentored by some of the greatest fiddlers in bluegrass, including Bruce Molsky and Darol Anger. She even toured with Darol Anger’s Republic of Strings when she was only 14. Over the years Haas has frequently performed here in the Valley with her sister, cellist Natalie. They will be at The Parlor Room in Northampton on Oct. 29. She was also a member of the band Crooked Still, who recorded on the local Signature Sounds label.
But when a lineup has been together for over a decade, isn’t adjusting to a new member difficult?
“Brittany made it easy — with her it wasn’t hard, it was a joy,” Kowert said.
When you hear the three singles they have released from their seventh and aptly titled first all instrumental album, “The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers,” it’s clear that Haas has provided a fresh start for the band. On this project they continue to push the boundaries and redefine what an acoustic string band is.
“It’s something that we have wanted to do forever and never did,” Kowert explained about the band’s decision to make an album without vocals. “It was something about Brit joining that made it all possible. Thile has said, as our lyricist and lead singer, the timing felt right to him. He didn’t really feel like making an album with words at the moment.”
To get a sense of the evolution of their playing with Haas and the album, Kowert said one only has to listen to the Punch Brothers podcast, “The Energy Curfew Music Hour.” The podcast finds the band collaborating with guest artists like James Taylor, Norah Jones, and Jon Batiste. The first season is available on all streaming services and the second is only available on Audible.
“You can go listen on the podcast and hear us becoming a new band with Brit in the band,” he said. “That is where that happened and that’s where we ended up writing a lot of the music that is on our new album.”
It’s also worth noting that the new album was recorded at the Guilford Sound Studio in nearby Guilford, Vermont. Kowert first heard about the studio from Dave Sinko, a sound engineer who has worked with Punch Brothers.
“He had made some records up there and he always told me ‘you need to go to Guilford Sound Studio,’ and then this record brought us all up there,” Kowert recalled. “We loved working there and it was a great experience.”
Even though the Punch Brothers will be playing at Tree House before the album is released, some of the new songs will be performed.
“The show has more instrumental music than it ever has before, but there are still a bunch of the new songs,” Kowert said. “I’m not sure how much of the album we get through on a given night – maybe half. We go on a journey together and I’d encourage people to come hear our new show and be prepared to come on that journey with us.”
Tickets are available at DSPshows.com. Doors open at 5 p.m.
Do It Now performs at Peskeompskut Park on Sunday
Do It Now, the adventurous musical group featuring guitarist John Sheldon, percussionist Tony Vacca and beat poet Paul Richmond, will take the stage at Peskeompskut Park in Turners Falls for a free show on Sunday, July 19 at 2 p.m.
The trio has been melding its creative energy for more than nine years now. Their show features Richmond’s words, which range from the hilarious to the heartfelt to the politically charged, while Sheldon and Vacca accompany him with improvised music.
Richmond described it best when he said Do It Now’s music’s “combines poetry, story-telling, political commentary and musical improvisation to share a vision of hope for our planet.”
There will be a book fair preceding the show at 1 p.m. focusing on local authors and publishers.
Bring your lawn chair and pack a picnic!
This show is sponsored by RiverCulture with funding from the MCC Turners Falls Cultural District. Donations are always appreciated. A rain date is scheduled for Sunday, July 26.
Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer who resides in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national publications. She can be reached at Soundslocal@yahoo.com.