Soggy Prairie

Soggy Prairie has the five-piece instrumentation of a traditional bluegrass band, but don’t call them traditional. With a mix of bluegrass standards, modern takes on country and Americana, and original music, Soggy Prairie puts on a show that demonstrates the versatility and broad appeal of string music. Formed in 2002 in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, the band has developed a confident, high-energy sound and an enthusiastic following. Starting out as high schoolers too young to go to bluegrass jams in bars, they came up with their own interpretations of bluegrass classics. Since then, they’ve become a mainstay of the southern Wisconsin bluegrass scene, playing close to a hundred shows per year at festivals, concerts, fairs and bars. Originally known as the Soggy Prairie Boys, the band dropped the “boys” from its name with the addition of women on fiddle and banjo in today’s lineup. Jim Kvalheim (mandolin, backing vocals) is an animated picker who may or may not have a giant beard at any given time. The Bass Player (bass, backing vocals) provides driving bass and infectious energy. Erin “the Conductor” Barnard (fiddle, vocals) is distinguished as the only member of the band with classical music training, educating other members about advanced concepts like “notes” and “being in tune.” Newest member Emily Jones (banjo) plays Scruggs-style banjo and has heard all your jokes. They’re still bringing the noise, only now with fewer boys.