Bridge City Sinners are heading back on the road this fall, beginning with a UK and Ireland run September 30–October 11. The Portland band brings punk energy to banjo, fiddle, guitar, upright bass and ukulele, pulling from Appalachian folk, bluegrass and Prohibition-era jazz. Their 2024 album, In the Age of Doubt, reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Bluegrass Albums chart, along with the Emerging Artists, Heatseekers and Top Current Album Sales charts.

“Can’t wait to be back in the UK. It’s been two years since we’ve tasted those beautiful breakfast beans,” says guitarist, co-writer and vocalist King Strang. “We get to celebrate our favorite holiday for two full weeks this year and we’re going all out. A lot of people really loved Streetlight Manifesto in high school and I still can’t believe we get to play some shows with them.”

The band grew out of Portland’s street music community. Libby Lux and upright bassist Scott Michaud had played together on the sidewalks before Bridge City Sinners took shape in 2016 as a loose group of friends. They played without much rehearsal or a fixed lineup, drawing on years spent traveling and making music on streets, in living rooms and wherever else they could gather people around a song.

What began as friends playing on Portland sidewalks became a band touring across the U.S. and overseas. They’ve kept much of that work in their own hands, releasing their albums through Flail Records, the community-minded label founded and run by Michaud. Built on DIY and DIT—or “do it together”—principles, Flail centers collaboration and community while giving independent artists a place to support one another and release music on their own terms.

Tickets and more information: bridgecitysinners.com/shows

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Image (c) Bryon Jeremy