Up-and-coming bluegrass band to play a lively show in Tahoe City Monday, March 17. Tickets are $15 in advance. The show starts at 9:30 p.m. 21 and over only. But tickets online at renegadeshows.com, tickets.com, jambasetickets.com or call 530-583-2801.

The Infamous Stringdusters represent a new generation of young bluegrass musicians. With Andy Hall on Resonator Guitar, Travis Book on bass, Chris Pandolfi on banjo, Jesse Cobb on mandolin, Jeremy Garrett on fiddle and Andy Falco on guitar, the band pulls together skill and experience well beyond their years.

They boast a combined resume that includes collaborations with artists like Dolly Parton, Leftover Salmon, Earl Scruggs, Bering Strait, Ronnie Bowman and Levon Helm. Their Sugar Hill debut, Fork In The Road, was one of the most highly acclaimed bluegrass releases of 2007. It has been praised by fans of traditional bluegrass and newgrass alike, proving that the young Nashville-based band offers something for everyone.

The disc features a diverse selection from the Stringdusters’ vast repertoire, with hard driving original instrumentals like 40 West along with more contemporary arrangements like Tragic Life… The band has performed at some of the country’s biggest acoustic music festivals (including Telluride Bluegrass, Merlefest, Grey Fox, and many more) as well as large concert halls, intimate clubs, and everything in between.

Untangling the threads of the Infamous Stringdusters’ origin is nearly impossible, thanks to the breadth of professional associations and friendships that brought its members together in various combinations. Still, a few highlights are worth noting, from the joint tenure that Andy Hall, Jeremy Garrett and Jesse Cobb shared in three time IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year Ronnie Bowman’s band, The Committee, to the initial encounter between Hall and Chris Pandolfi in Boston, where Hall had graduated from the Berkley School of Music not long before Pandolfi became the first student there admitted with the banjo as his principal instrument, to the lengthy search that resulted in Colorado jamgrass mainstay Travis Book’s joining the band, and the old friendships that led them to Andy Falco. Indeed, the six musicians’ resumes cut a swath across the bluegrass mainstream — and beyond:

Andy Hall (dobro)
Andy Hall toured and/or recorded with icons like Earl Scruggs, Dolly Parton and Charlie Daniels while recording his own solo album (Redwing) that featured soon-to-be members of the Stringdusters;

Andy Falco (guitar)
Andy Falco, the newest addition to the group, has recently toured with Alecia Nugent and The Greencards, while his wide-ranging abilities have been previously on display in working with such diverse artists as Vanessa Carlton and Levon Helm (The Band). (Photo: Cal Crary)

Chris Pandolfi (banjo)
Chris studied with Tony Trischka, earned a Bill Vernon Memorial Scholarship, recorded a solo album (The Handoff), and toured with the New England Bluegrass Band, the Grammy-nominated Russian country-bluegrass group Bering Strait, and former Leftover Salmon mandolinist Drew Emmitt.

Jeremy Garrett (fiddle)
Jeremy performed with an array of bluegrass artists, including Bobby Osborne, Chris Jones and Audie Blaylock, backed award-winning country singer Lee Ann Womack, and released an album (Garrett Grass, Bluegrass Gospel 2005) with his father, Glen Garrett, that featured dozens of top-shelf bluegrass pickers and singers.

Jesse Cobb (mandolin)
Jesse served a stint with Grand Ole Opry member Mike Snider, performed with Jim Lauderdale, Melonie Cannon, the Fox Family, Valerie Smith and Lee Ann Womack.

Travis Book (upright bass)
Travis anchored Colorado’s Broke Mountain, winners of the prestigious Rockygrass band competition in 2003, and performed with Benny “Burle” Galloway, arguably the best-known independent songwriter on the jamgrass scene.

Yet as deep as their individual experience runs, the Infamous Stringdusters are quick to assert that the band is more than the sum of its parts — and after a furiously busy year and a half on the road, they’re attuned enough to one another that they complete each others’ sentences. Their closeness of mind and prodigious talents make for tight, quick-moving live shows that sparkle with an infectious energy.

Tickets are available at the venue, Jobys, New Moon Natural Foods, Mad About Music, Recycled Records (Reno) and online at renegadeshows.com, tickets.com, jambasetickets.com or by calling 530-583-2801.