Gangstagrass occupies a lane that sounds unlikely on paper and surprisingly natural in practice. The collective blends bluegrass instrumentation with hip-hop rhythms, pairing banjo rolls and fiddle runs with sharp lyricism and boom-bap backbone. Formed in Brooklyn, the group first gained wider attention when their music was featured in the TV series Justified, but the concept has grown far beyond novelty. What keeps it working is musicianship on both sides of the equation, with live players and MCs sharing equal footing. In the open-air setting at Montalvo Arts Center, that mix of roots and rhythm lands somewhere between porch jam and cipher session.
Thu, Mar 19, 7:30pm, $78.00-$83.00
Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga
