Innovative and Cinematic, Jon Stickley Trio Continues Onward

Jon Stickley Trio. Photo by Heather Hambor

Jon Stickley was recently live with Premier Guitar for a Q&A and to play some tunes;
Check out the video here→ www.premierguitar.com/articles/27074-jon-stickley-live-at-pg

Js3 released a behind-the-scenes video from live shows of “Almost with You” → https://youtu.be/QRlKya9nZi8

ASHEVILLE, NC -- Jon Stickley Trio is a genre-defying and cinematic instrumental trio, which combines Stickley’s innovative flatpicking guitar with the sultry-spacy melodies of Lyndsay Pruett on violin along with classically trained and heavily jazz influenced drummer Hunter Deacon to create textural soundscapes.

“It’s not your father’s acoustic-guitar music—although Stickley’s pop showed him his first chords when he was 12 years old. Instead, Stickley’s Martin churns out a mixture of bluegrass, Chuck Berry, metal, prog, grunge, and assorted other genres—all thoroughly integrated into a personal style,” writes Guitar Player Magazine.

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“Stickley is a super-resourceful acoustic guitarist who uses the instrument in many surprising ways and whose timing is just flawless. Fiddler Lyndsay Pruett puts deep thought into her flowing solos, plus she adds little flourishes and sudden stops that elevate the music,” proclaims Nashville's Music City Roots’ Craig Havighurst.

Stickley says of Deacon, the newest member of the Trio since January, “we’re really excited to have Hunter’s vibe in the mix, his creativity and willingness to experiment are two things that drew us to him. He has a lot of personality, and sensitivity in his playing which makes our dynamic range even wider. Lyndsay and I are inspired by what he brings to the table.”

“My time with the Jon Stickley Trio has been great so far,” says Deacon. “The two things I love are music and travel. With this group, I get to play music and travel, and as a huge bonus, I get to do it with two people that I really like and respect musically. I am also new to the jamgrass scene and I've got to say that it is about the most welcoming group of folks I've come across. It's been an exciting few months and I can't wait to burn up some more miles and make some more noise.”

Pruett says, “JS3 continues onward! Hunter brings a lightness and intricacy to the table that opens up the musical conversation to something a little deeper than it was before. It was a smooth transition to begin with, but the more we play, the more I realize our potential for improvisation and a continuing creativity.”

With inspiration ranging from from Green Day to Duran Duran to Tony Rice to Nirvana, Grateful Dead, David Grisman and beyond, the Trio is making waves with their unique sound. In the past few years, along with releasing two full length albums (2017’s Maybe Believe and 2015’s Lost At Last, both produced by The Bad Plus’ Dave King at Echo Mountain Studios in the band’s hometown of Asheville, NC) and one EP (2016’s Triangular), the Trio has zig-zagged the nation, playing over 120 dates a year. They are road tested and band geek approved!

Premier Guitar says, “Stickley’s trio… is not a traditional bluegrass group by any means… they are just nimble and ambitious enough to navigate EDM-style breakbeats as effortlessly as the old timey standard ‘Blackberry Blossom.’”

Stickley says, “The Trio feels fresher and hotter than ever, we’ve hit our stride in terms of creating tunes that are uniquely us and that’s a really exciting place to be musically. Not to mention we are so stoked to get back to many of our favorite festivals and clubs, and even more excited to play some the ones we’ve always dreamed of. 2018 will, without a doubt, be our best year yet!”

They recently appeared on eTown, had several sets at the inaugural Bender Jamboree (where Stickley had a fun jam with Leftover Salmon and were joined by Sam Bush and Billy Strings), performed at WinterWondergrass, Cumberland Caverns, Savannah Stopover Festival, Suwannee Spring Reunion, Old Settler’s Music Festival among others. Others festivals on the tour this year include DelFest, Strangecreek Campout, John Hartford Music Festival, Duck Creek Log Jam, Homegrown Music & Mountain Sports Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, and Northwest String Summit.

Looking further out they are thrilled to play Bluegrass Underground at The Caverns in Pehlam, TN this November with Jeff Austin Band and Larry Keel and also have announced that they will be on Jam Cruise 2019!

www.jonstickley.com, www.facebook.com/JonStickleyTrio,
www.instagram.com/jonstickleytrio, and www.twitter.com/jonstickleytrio