Katy Bar the Door

Every bluegrass band will ultimately have to decide whether to stick with yesterday’s classics or try to create something new and original. If the latter, can the group pull it off while still paying proper respect to the history and tradition of the music?

Diamond Hill Station, from central Indiana, answers that question with a resounding yes. “We love the classics,” says Michael White, the group’s founder, “but we got tired of hearing every other band play the same songs. We didn’t want to do that, and since we all write, we decided to focus on our own music. We still love classic bluegrass, though, and we want our original songs to sound good alongside tunes from Bill Monroe or the Stanley Brothers.”

The band, which has been in existence since 2003, features White on guitar, Lloyd Shonk on bass, Dave Bagdade on mandolin and Bruce Anderson on banjo. Although White is the lone original member, bassist Shonk has been with Diamond Hill Station for almost as long. The group steadily built a following, playing at nightclubs, churches and bluegrass festivals and releasing three albums. Bagdade, a veteran bluegrass musician, joined in 2008, and the band released Live Bootleg in 2009. After a two-year hiatus, Diamond Hill Station reunited in the fall of 2011 with new banjoist Anderson and recently released Live from Little Grantville.

The band's sixth album, Katy Bar the Door, features all original compositions. “One of the things which sets us apart,” explains White, “is the fact that we have four songwriters and four lead vocalists. Even the top bluegrass bands use material from outside writers, and we’ve done that in the past, but we have so many original songs that we feel strongly about, so we’re going to showcase that material.” The group will also travel to the Netherlands to play the European World of Bluegrass festival, and plans are underway for a Canadian tour and a ten-year celebration to take place in 2013.

“As we approach the end of our first decade,” says White, “the band has never been stronger. I can’t wait to see where we go next.”