Bluegrass Beyond Borders: Rookie Riot teaches young Swedes to play bluegrass
Anders Ternesten, guitarist, banjo player and co-founder of the Swedish band, Dunderhead, is a man with a mission. After mentoring a young and talented banjo student, he decided to form a band that would allow him to fully master his student’s skills. The student was given a prominent place at the helm of the band that Ternesten helped to organize with his prodigy in mind, and
later named Rookie Riot. The young banjo player eventually went on to university, but Rookie Riot continues, further proof of the talent Ternsesten has continued to mentor. The band is now in its third generation and is still adding new players all the way.
– We have stuck to the idea of bringing in new / young people who want to learn the bluegrass music style, Ternesten explains. “Now my daughter Wilma, who is 15 years old, is one of the singers, and another of my banjo students fills the 5-string compartment. The band has gone from being just a project to a complete ensemble that aims to visit the United States to find further inspiration and learn more about bluegrass. ”
Rookie Riot is actually a promising young combo whose talents are already well established. Although this is Wilma’s first band, her interest in bluegrass was approached of her parents who made it a point to take her to every Swedish bluegrass festival they have participated in since her birth. It was only natural; Anders, who plays rhythm guitar in the group, started playing the banjo himself at the age of 12 and has had a constant love of bluegrass all his life.
The fiddler and singer Agnes Brogeb became a well-known name in the Swedish bluegrass scene, and has been with Rookie Riot since the start. Together with Ternesten and mandolin player Karl Lagrell Annerhult – a former member of the Downtown Ramblers and once associated with Anders in Dunderhead – Brogeb works as one of the band’s foremost mentors.
Jeremiah Danielsson plays upright bass, even though he initially excelled at clawhammer banjo. The banjo tasks were handled by Daniel Svensson, who quickly became one of Anders’ best students.
“Agnes and I had done two versions of Rookie Riot before this set, but when Daniel got ready to join a band, Wilma was ready to sing the lead role and the other members wanted to join,” Anders explains. “We could not resist putting up this outfit. ”
Ternesten describes Rookie Riot’s sound as sticking to a traditional template. “More than half of the band members are brand new to their instrument, and a couple of them never made any music at all before joining Rookie Riot,” he reflects. “It’s more about the songs we choose to do. It is the way we put together a set list and the energy we take with us on stage that creates a unique experience for those who go to our shows. ”
Not surprisingly, the group has a large amount of influences.
“If you play bluegrass and love this music, it’s almost impossible not to be influenced by the first generation of bluegrass musicians – Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, Stanley Brothers and more,” he insists. “We’re doing some Monroe and Kenny Baker numbers – Jerusalem Ridge, Let me rest, and Ashland collapse, to mention a few. That said, I think the main influences among the band members would lean more towards bands like Sideline, Mountain Heart, Steeldrivers and, of course, Union Station. I think the public’s awareness of bluegrass music in Europe is largely due to Alison Krauss & Union Station. ”
Ternesten notes that there is a tendency within the band to listen more to jam videos from IBMA, SPGMBA and other different festivals than to actual recordings on Spotify. “The spontaneous energy in these jam sessions is something we strive for,” he adds.
Although the group has performed at two of the three major bluegrass meetings in Sweden – Grenna Bluegrass Festival and Naesville Bluegrass Festival, and has also been booked for the same two festivals in 2022 – their long-term plan is to travel to the US sometime in the next few years or two. “We recently decided that this was our goal, and the work of getting the money going has just started,” says Ternesten. “We put all the money we get from shows, goods and donations into an account that we will use to make the trip to the United States possible. We almost count the revenue from a show in the number of airline tickets.”
Meanwhile, Ternesten continues to focus on honing the players’ skills. “We have a very pronounced tactic to play on the street as much as possible, because this, in our opinion, is the best way to get a band tight, test new songs, interact with an audience and prepare a band for the circumstances on stage there. “The first step in learning a music genre is to try to copy the masters. Then you can move on to find your own path.”
So far, their efforts seem to have paid off with the people at home. “Blue grass always works”, Ternesten suggests. “It’s like the foundation of rock and pop tradition, and people in a live environment always seem to enjoy it. In Europe, not many people listen to bluegrass drive their car to work or home and cook dinner, but when they experience it live “Everyone loves it. We have had a great variety of audiences. Our goal is to get more people into bluegrass music and increase knowledge about music in Sweden and Europe.”
That said, all recording plans remain on the back cover. “We have not been to the studio yet,” says Ternesten. “Since we mostly do covers, it does not feel like a focus for us right now.
Maturing the band and getting new inspiration from our US trip may change us, but rather than getting a perfect recording in a studio, we will focus more on creating more jam-like videos for social media. YouTube is the best channel for people to find new music today. We are also looking at TikTok as a soon-to-be-used platform for bluegrass. ”
It should not be difficult. After all, Ternesten says there is a simple explanation for why bluegrass maintains a growing popularity.
“It combines an honest simplicity that goes straight into your heart with a virtuoso approach that attracts the mind,” he thinks. “It’s just a winning concept.”