Crooked Still
Recording Artist · Active 2004–present · Boston area
Old-Time (Contemporary)
Folk / Americana
Crooked Still was one of the most inventive string bands of the 2000s — a Boston-based quintet whose reimagining of traditional Appalachian and old-time songs with cello, fretless banjo, and modern sensibility opened new territory at the boundary between old-time and progressive acoustic music. Their catalog, built around singer Aoife O'Donovan, remains influential on everyone from Sarah Jarosz to Molly Tuttle.
- Founded in 2001 in Boston by Aoife O'Donovan (vocals), Gregory Liszt (banjo), Rushad Eggleston (cello), and Corey DiMario (bass). Later additions included Brittany Haas (fiddle) and Tristan Clarridge (cello) after Eggleston departed.
- Liszt is a Princeton-trained physicist and MIT PhD; Eggleston was a founding member of Fiddlers 4 with Bruce Molsky, Darol Anger, and Michael Doucet. O'Donovan grew up in an Irish music family in Boston.
- Debut album Hop High (2004, self-released) was a striking collection of traditional songs given chamber-music arrangements. Follow-ups: Shaken by a Low Sound (2006, Signature Sounds), Still Crooked (2008, Signature Sounds), and Some Strange Country (2010).
- Known for radically reharmonized and slowed-down readings of traditional material: “Orphan Girl” (Gillian Welch), “Flora,” “Little Sadie,” “Shady Grove,” and “Undone in Sorrow.”
- Rushad Eggleston left the band in 2007; his cello chair was filled by Tristan Clarridge. Fiddler Brittany Haas joined around the same time, expanding the band to a quintet with two string players capable of filling harmonic and melodic roles.
- Some Strange Country (2010) was their final studio album, featuring the expanded lineup and more original material; band went on indefinite hiatus in 2012 as members pursued solo and other-band work.
- Aoife O'Donovan went on to a distinguished solo career: albums Fossils (2013), In the Magic Hour (2016), Age of Apathy (2022, Grammy-nominated), and All My Friends (2024). Founding member of I'm With Her (with Sara Watkins and Sarah Jarosz) — which won the Grammy for Best American Roots Song in 2019.
- Gregory Liszt founded the Deadly Gentlemen and subsequently released solo banjo material; Brittany Haas has become one of the leading modern old-time fiddlers.
- Crooked Still's influence is disproportionate to their short career — widely cited by younger string bands (Mandolin Orange/Watchhouse, Mipso, Sarah Jarosz, Molly Tuttle) as a key model for how to make traditional material sound fresh.
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Ain't No GraveShaken By a Low Sound (2006)
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New RailroadShaken By a Low Sound (2006)
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Railroad BillShaken By a Low Sound (2006)
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Shady GroveHop High (2004)
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The Golden VanitySome Strange Country (2010)
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Corey DiMarioPlayed on recordings with Crooked Still
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Gregory LisztPlayed on recordings with Crooked Still
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Aoife O'DonovanPlayed on recordings with Crooked Still
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Rushad EgglestonPlayed on recordings with Crooked Still
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Brittany HaasPlayed on recordings with Crooked Still
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Casey DriessenPlayed on recording with Crooked Still
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John McDonaldPlayed on recording with Crooked Still
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Laurie LewisPlayed on recording with Crooked Still
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Ruth UngarPlayed on recording with Crooked Still
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Tom RozumPlayed on recording with Crooked Still
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Tristan ClarridgePlayed on recording with Crooked Still