Big Muddy Folk Festival, Boonville, Missouri, April 6-7, 2001

The Reedy Buzzards were formed in 1992 in Milwaukee to evoke a rare moment in American music in the late 1930s, when traditional styles came together, as they endearingly put it, to flow as one river and create American popular music on radio. The first decades of the last century will long be heralded as the blossom of American music, and that period continues to inspire many a band.

The Reedy Buzzards specialize in the tight and lovely harmonies of the classic family bands, from the Carter Family to the Everly Brothers. Their shows combine a fresh take on country heart-breakers and fancy picking. Band members are Lisa Horngren on bass and vocals, Ruth Werner doing lead vocals and guitar, mandolinist Tom Schwark completes the duet singing and Dean Werner on mandolin and guitar. The band name? Well, it was once observed that Ruth and Tom's duet singing was so close that it sounded like three voices instead of two, something like the strong overtones in the buzz of a reed instrument when it's played well. Maybe someone was doing a crossword puzzle at the time.

Visit the Reedy Buzzards web site