The Junior League Band

There’s a temptation for young bluegrass bands, especially those rooted in the jam-rock scene, to exaggerate the genre’s rural qualities, playing up the twang and speeding up the tempos until they’re left with an unflattering send-up of the music they purport to pay homage to. Taking a more natural approach to acoustic roots music is Junior League, a Washington, D.C. band with Milwaukee ties (guitarist Elias Cohn hails from Shorewood). Without skimping on the fiddle or the mandolin, the group rides a steadier, more contemporary groove, following much the same formula that made Nickel Creek’s best work click. The honeyed vocals of banjoist Lissy Rosemont make their songs go down especially easy.