The Mountain Boys are a bluegrass trio featuring guitar, mandolin, bass and tight harmony vocals. Inspired to combine the sounds of early bluegrass with contemporary influences, such as rock and jazz, they perform a wide range of material their own way. The Boys' sound has been turning heads across the Bay Area since the fall of 2006.Tim Hicks moved from his boyhood home of West Virginia to the Bay Area to pursue his interest in bluegrass mandolin in the summer of 2006. Growing up, he learned to play music from his father Ray, a master bluegrass musician, and studied with world famous folk musicians at the Augusta Heritage Workshops. In West Virginia he performed in the old-time stringband Wild Hog and The Falling Run Bluegrass Band. Over the past twenty years, Tim has mastered many of the bluegrass instruments, however, bluegrass patriarch and virtuosic mandolinist Bill Monroe remains his primary musical inspiration.Hailing from Wyndmoor, PA, Andrew Conklin developed an interest in upright bass during his senior year of high school. While attending Oberlin Conservatory of Music, he gradually immersed himself in the school's vibrant folk music scene. Andrew combines masterful technique and musicianship with a broad set of musical influences. At Oberlin he performed in rock groups (Sea Lion), folk ensembles (The Fancyboys), and free jazz collectives (Ion Permutat, Stratis). In September 2006 Andrew moved to Oakland and currently performs in a host of Bay Area groups including Amos Payne (rock) and Timosoarus (jazz/experimental).Originally from Richmond Virginia, via the Blueridge Mountains, Jacob Groopman takes an eclectic approach to bluegrass guitar. Although trained in jazz guitar at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Jacob's Mountain Boys style reflects his interest in early styles of bluegrass and old time guitar. His solid rhythm playing, melodic, yet intricate, flat-picking, and intense vocals have excited audiences since Jacob moved to Berkeley, CA in 2004. Also a member of the afrobeat orchestra "Albino!," Jacob has established himself as an up and coming Bay Area guitarist.
