The exponentially growing young band Broken Compass Bluegrass hit the ground running with the release of their self-produced debut album Fool’s Gold. These youngsters are hot off the widely-renowned stages of Hangtown Music Festival, Northwest String Summit, & Hog Farm Hideaway. Having only been a band for two years come May of 2023, they are showing no sign of slowing down and have certainly set the bar high for an undoubtedly fiery career in the progressive acoustic music scene.
Fool’s Gold is a collection of discovery and potential. Nine out of the ten tracks are originals. From hard-driving toe-tappers to thought-provoking, soulful ballads, band members Kyle Ledson, Django Ruckrich, Mei Lin Heirendt, and Sam Jacobs demonstrate their songwriting, arranging, technical, instrumental, and vocal skills with a level of maturity comparable to artists who have been in the business for much longer.
“Ghost (On That Train),” the second track on the album, features the charismatic, tie-dye loving, phenomenal banjoist Kyle Tuttle who is at the forefront of the jamgrass scene today. Also lending an exceptional twin fiddle part and a tremendous solo on “End of the World” is John Mailander, recording artist with Billy Strings and a highly-respected solo artist in his own right.
“Walk Beside Me,” the only cover song, completes the album. The group showcases their vocal capabilities with four-part harmonies on this stripped-down rendition originally written by the great Tim O’Brien and Darrell Scott. Fool’s Gold shall be released on March 31st of 2023 and is not to be the only album from Broken Compass.
The members of Broken Compass Bluegrass (BCB), a young jamgrass quartet, grew up immersed in the music festivals of California. Before welcoming bassist Sam Jacobs to the band, Broken Compass was a trio composed of Kyle Ledson, Django Ruckrich, and Mei Lin Heirendt. Each began playing their respective instruments at a young age and were inspired by bluegrass roots music, but also greatly influenced by non-traditional artists including The Grateful Dead, The Punch Brothers, Billy Strings, and The Lonely Heartstring Band, to name a few. The trio was compared to the likes of Nickel Creek by Bluegrass Today in an article from March of 2022.
Talented bassist and audio engineer Sam Jacobs joined the group in the spring of 2022, rounding out the BCB sound and adding immensely to the band’s potential and drive. The quartet is certainly a tight group musically, but their solid friendships are just as apparent, creating a preeminent show experience of impressive music and high spirits. Now coming up on two years as a band, they have already played some of the most celebrated stages in the grass world, are set to release their debut album, Fool’s Gold, and have a heavy stream of bookings ahead.
