Jarvis Street Bluegrass Band

Location: R.A. Fountain

Our promo for this show:

Jarvis Street Bluegrass Band is an ECU-based quartet that began out of an English class assignment which encouraged a couple of the guys to write a research paper on the history of bluegrass music. Jesse Iaquinto, from Elmira, NY and Mark Romano, of Charlotte, wrote the paper for Olivia Murray’s English 1200 class, and out of that experience, they became friends and soon began hosting jams and then performing in public.

“We had Jesse’s dad’s 50-year old banjo and a mandolin,” Romano told Shannon Davis for the East Carolinian, “so we started messing around with those.” Their band was soon formed and they began playing dates around Greenville last fall.

Their Fountain date was filled after Romano visited Fountain General Store to write an article for the East Carolinian on Watermelon Sugar. He wound up staying late to jam with Sugar. Paul Black, originally scheduled for April 27, had just cancelled his date, and Romano was quick to accept it for Jarvis Street.

Iaquinto, a junior philosophy major, plays mandolin; Romano, who plays banjo, is a sophomore majoring in science and math education. Also in the band is Chad Cowan, from Elmira, NY, who plays guitar, and English major Charlie McCanless, who plays bass. All four share singing duties.

Jarvis Street plays a variety of traditional bluegrass mixed with modern day favorites and originals. They have a few surprises, such as bluegrass covers of Nirvana and Johnny Cash, and enjoy extended jams on many of their songs, pushing them up to 12 minutes in length.

Jarvis Street’s April 27 show begins at 7:30. Admission is $3.

Tags: bluegrass, Concert, new grass, original, tradtional bluegrass