The Creekers insist that they aren’t your “papaw’s bluegrass” band. Tanner Horton (lead guitar, vocals) and Ashton Bowling (cajon) recently sat down with us on the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast and talked about their former jobs before they started to take off, how they found out that Luke Combs is a big fan of theirs, and why they often find themselves dealing with imposter syndrome. Horton and Bowling also detailed a wild story about how their banjo player, Scott Sutton, had a heart attack before their debut show and still played through it, then later discuss how they handled getting stuck in Nashville during the nasty ice storm that hit earlier this year. All that to say… there’s a lot packed into this hour-long sit down with The Creekers. But something that really stood out from the conversations was the bluegrass band saying they aren’t actually a bluegrass band. Bowling says it really comes down to the instruments that make up the six-piece band, and suggested that The Creekers don’t have any bluegrass songs: “We just have the instruments to be called a bluegrass band. I don’t think we have any bluegrass songs, if that makes sense.” Horton, his band mate, was quick to jump in and clear up any confusion “We do (have bluegrass songs), but I say we’re not your papaw’s bluegrass. That’s how I usually say it. We do a lot of old stuff, but all of our original stuff is… I wouldn’t call that bluegrass. We all love it, or I do anyway. It’s the only thing I ever played for years.” @whiskeyriff @The Creekers #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff If a bluegrass band has a strict, instrument allowance, Ashton Bowling says it’s his instrument – which earned him the nickname “Thumper” – that sets them apart from being a traditional bluegrass band. And while we are at it, I’ll mention that the cajon is pronounced “ka-hon.” I’m pointing that out to hopefully help out Bowling in the future, because he says he hears some crazy pronunciations of the percussion instrument: “You should hear the way people pronounce it… most of the time I just call it a box. It’s a lot easier to explain than it is cajon.” Both Horton and Bowling explained that bringing the cajon into their band makes them more of a contemporary country act, even though their catalogue probably fits best into the bluegrass box. In a way, it seems like Bowling and the band just try to avoid calling themselves bluegrass so that they don’t upset the bluegrass traditionalists out there, as the band’s cajon player explained: “To me, most bluegrass bands… we’re more contemporary because we have a cajon. I feel like OG bluegrass people would frown upon that.” That being said, Horton believes that “OG bluegrass people” are softening up on the cajon inclusion (probably because The Creekers are helping to bring the genre into the mainstream). The lead guitar player and vocalist for The Creekers says that he’s actually included in the grouping of people who weren’t crazy about the instruments… but then had their mind changed: “I thought that too, but we’ve played some more traditional-type festivals and everybody’s loved it… I ain’t going to lie, I didn’t like the cajon idea at first. He won me over pretty fast.” @whiskeyriff @The Creekers #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff And regardless of however you want to define the music The Creekers are bringing into the world, there’s no doubt that they are winning over people too. You can hear more from The Creekers by checking out the interview on YouTube or making sure to download the podcast on Apple Podcasts by searching “Whiskey Riff Raff” or by clicking here. We’re also available on Spotify and wherever else you can listen to podcasts. Cheers, y’all. Audio Video The post Why The Creekers Don’t Consider Themselves a Bluegrass Band first appeared on Whiskey Riff.