Intergalactic Swamp Rangers is a high-energy acoustic band that combines Appalachian string band, blues, Celtic, bluegrass, Gospel and Cajun styles in a sonic gumbo that embodies the folk process.  Following the quintessential American idea that tradition is not set in stone but is continually shaped by new and old influences, the four Intergalactic Swamp Rangers are style sponges who effortlessly blend instruments and genres to create pulsing grooves that feel simultaneously old and new. 

 

Chris Turner (vocals, harmonica, bass harmonica, jawharp), a virtuoso of the harmonica and jawharp, is a master of rhythmic breathing and pulse.  Rachel Maloney (vocals, fiddle, jawharp) is a soulful fiddler whose evocative playing has been described as neo-medieval-Celtic-swamp music.  Andy Reiner (vocals, fiddle, octave mandolin) uses folk melodies as launch pads for creative cross-genre improvisation, composition and groovy instrumental rhythms.  Equally brilliant on the cello in both backup and lead roles, Joy Adams (vocals, cello) handles the low frequency spectrum of the band with a fierce sense of grace.

Chris and Rachel met in 1973 in London, England, and traveled extensively through Europe and West Africa, soaking up new musical ideas.  Together, they have forged a lifelong musical partnership of inventive approaches to folk music that invite participation and infectious dancing. 

 

Years of week-long, immersive music camps tie the band together. Andy began as a student of Rachel and Chris at Meadowlark Music Camp in Maine. Their musical involvement grew over the next 14 years into many professional collaborations, from performing to creating Rustic Roots, their own unique, community and campfire jamming based music camp. Joy and Andy met as teaching faculty at several O’Connor Method Camps and quickly discovered their shared love for American music and improvisation.

Each member of Intergalactic Swamp Rangers is a vocalist, composer, and educator, and multi-instrumentalist.  Their alternate instruments are small enough to travel easily and the band’s arrangements feature triple fiddles (cello as big fiddle), twin jawharps, and four part vocal harmonies.  With their diverse and eclectic repertoire, the sounds of voices, fiddles, harmonica, cello, jawharps and octave mandolin forge layers of overtones that invoke primal human elements and fuse influences from around the world in a uniquely American way.  Intergalactic Swamp Rangers is coming to make you dance and boogie!