Long beloved by MerleFest audiences for their ambitious Hillside Album Hour performances, The Waybacks have been praised by the Chicago Tribune for their "near-ideal balance of irreverence, chops, discipline, and originality.” Seamlessly blending traditional folk roots with a zest for high wire adventure, they defy categorization, drawing freely from the old world while remaining free from any notion of being a throwback. They are as uninhibited and unpredictable as the eclectic San Francisco Bay Area that claims them, and their experiments have always proven sharp-witted and musically dazzling. They're living proof that in music anyway, evolution and intelligent design are entirely compatible. A four-piece with a full arsenal of acoustic and electric instruments, configured around the hot guitar of James Nash and the fiddle virtuosity of Warren Hood and driven by the rhythm section of bassist Joe Kyle Jr. and drummer Chuck Hamilton, the band filters genre through its own sensibilities and ends up transcending it altogether, conjuring up musical landscapes that dissolve boundaries and find common ground. Add in those spirited flights of improvisation and a healthy dose of jaw-dropping chops and what emerges in the end is decidedly Waybacks. A trip well worth taking.
