Top of the Town 2011

This neo-acoustic quintet from Nederland classifies its genre as “transcendental folk”—another way to sum up a sound influenced by everything from bluegrass and traditional Scottish fiddle rifts to reggae and hip-hop. The haunting vocals of Bonnie Paine pair nicely with the deliberate melodies and organic harmonies from band members Bridget Law, Sage Cook, Dango Rose, and Daniel Rodriguez, each of whom is a multi-instrumentalist. At a recent sold-out show, we counted no fewer than 13 instruments on stage, including a washboard, a musical saw, and a djembe (hide-covered drum)—this ain’t your typical indie group of strummers. Without fail, we get chills listening to “Ring Around the Moon” (from its 2008 debut album, Elephant Revival) on a moonlit Colorado night. www.elephantrevival.com