Bowerbird is pleased to present American traditional music trio Joseph Decosimo, Luke Richardson, and Cleek Schrey performing music from their recent album Beehive Cathedral.

Joseph Decosimo, Luke Richardson, and Cleek Schrey, three of the most compelling musicians in the American traditional music scene, explore traditional repertoires from Appalachia and the broader South, gleaned from visits with older players, field recordings, vintage 78s, and archival tune collections. Working with fiddle, hardanger d’amore (a fiddle with sympathetic strings), banjos, and a 19th-century pump organ, the trio conveys both the sonic details of their instruments and a generous musical interplay rooted in a dozen years of collaboration. Their 2024 debut album Beehive Cathedral, released on Dear Life Records, presents resonant, thoughtful, and expansive explorations of Appalachian and American music. Irish fiddle luminary, Martin Hayes, declares it “a hypnotic recording that is grounded, subtle and refined.” The trio departs from the string band format that has defined the genre, especially since the Old-time music revival of the 1970s made guitar, bass, and chordal accompaniment features of the music. Untethering the music from chord patterns and guitars, they reimagine older approaches to the music filled with tonal ambiguity, drone, and dissonance.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

The members of the trio are veteran performers in the Old-time scene, where they’ve worked with renowned string bands The Bucking Mules and Bigfoot. Beehive Cathedral draws on the group’s experiences making music together at Southern fiddlers’ conventions, in the back of NYC pubs, on stages, and in their homes. It also sources energy from their broader musical lives, including Schrey’s participation in NYC’s experimental sound community and Decosimo’s collaborations with Durham, NC projects Wye Oak, Hiss Golden Messenger, and Jake Xerxes Fussell.