The Cincinnati string band, named after the Rumpke Sanitary Landfill of Hamilton County, is made up of multi-instrumentalists Jason Wolf, Adam Copeland, Ben Gourley and J.D. Westmoreland.
For six canonical albums, the RMB has captured the essence of bluegrass with a modern twist, harboring an edgier catalogue than Flatt and Scruggs while remaining within the lineage of what Bill Monroe invented. The songs are both sincere and wry, of the present but of the good ol’ days.
It wasn’t until the 2022 album “River’s Daughter” that the Rumpke Mountain Boys had its first electric release. Drums and organs were dismissed for five albums, to service archetypal acoustic bluegrass instruments, before the title track of the sixth flipped the script.
The song “River’s Daughter” is a near-explosion of melodic riffs. The mandolin is set free by the drums, relieved from its post in the percussion section, to play circles alongside and around the guitar. When the smoky vocals finally join in, it’s a clear sign that the rest of the album will jam more than it’ll ‘grass.
In many ways, “River’s Daughter” is different from what came before it, but still very much an effort by the same band that made “Know I’m Home” — a more traditional bluegrass record steeped in Cincinnati commentary — the year before.
Written by RMB mandolinist Ben Gourley, the song “River’s Daughter” was an experiment. It was also an homage to the band Leftover Salmon and its early influence on the jamgrass scene.
“It never really worked with the acoustic band because it needed the drums and that electric pulse behind it,” Gourley said. “Partially the thought behind a lot of the electric album was to show versatility.”
The 2022 album was the band’s Newport Folk Festival moment, the RMB’s version of “Dylan goes electric.” And although the band has tested the limits of what bluegrass can be for over two decades, the latest album might have more in common with the Grateful Dead than Mr. Monroe.
“I think the first thought that comes into people’s mind a lot of times tends to be like, Is this the transition the band is going through full on?” Gourley said. “And then when they find out that we maintain that bluegrass route, and that’s what it’s going to be, that’s the balance. This is more of a special occasion thing. There’s a lot more interest in seeing what we can do with it. It adds a lot to our creative process, too.”
The special occasion of “River’s Daughter,” the album, exists on record and in a few sporadic shows throughout the year. The Rumpke Mountain Boys will be in the normal acoustic four-piece form for the upcoming Yellow Cab show.
The band prides itself on no rehearsals and no set lists, which have been key missing pieces to RMB’s spontaneous performances since the early-2000s. What started as a lack of preparation, Gourley says, just became the band’s thing. The RMB feeds off the energy of the crowd, and returns the favor.
Much like the band’s latest record, which may be its only electric release for a while, Rumpke Mountain Boys shows are about exploring new sounds organically, stretching the definition of bluegrass to jam for the sake of jamming.
Brandon Berry writes about the Dayton and Southwest Ohio music and art scene. Have a story idea for him? Email branberry100@gmail.com.
How to go
What: Rumpke Mountain Boys
When: 8 p.m., Dec. 20
Where: Yellow Cab Tavern, 700 E. 4th St., Dayton
Cost: $15 adv., $20 door
Tickets: yellowcabtavern.com/event-tickets
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