Locals perform traditional Italian string music at Isis Restaurant & Music Hall, Jan. 29

Mike Guggino and Nicky Sanders (Steep Canyon Rangers) and Barrett Smith (Shannon Whitworth Band) will perform an evening of traditional Italian string music at Isis Restaurant & Music Hall on Thursday, Jan. 29, at 7:15 p.m. $10.

Press release from Barrett Smith

Members of the Steep Canyon Rangers and the Shannon Whitworth Band have unearthed an exotic new world of acoustic roots music, and plan to share it with Asheville later this month. Mike Guggino and Nicky Sanders (Steep Canyon Rangers) and Barrett Smith (Shannon Whitworth Band) have been spending their time off the road pursuing a genre of music that could best be described as Traditional Italian String Music. No strangers to the worlds of bluegrass, old time, and Americana, this trio has been turned on to something increasingly rare on the American acoustic roots music scene – a fresh, new voice that is truly unique, yet still firmly based in an established tradition. This tradition just happens to be an Italian one.

“The whole thing kinda came out of left field for us”, says Smith, “Mike found these old recordings, then we started linking up with some players out in San Francisco, where they’ve kind of got a scene going. And we had all these Italian bluegrass friends who knew a little about it.”

What started out as a whim soon evolved into a bit of an obsession — discovering old sheet music and field recordings and tracking down like-minded players in pursuit of “the real [Italian] deal.” Good information was surprisingly hard to find.

“There are actually very few places in the world where the music can really be heard,” says Guggin., “People in Italy don’t seem to be playing it much anymore. You’ve got a few pockets here and there where Americans are keyed into it. In San Francisco, New York. So it really feels like we’re preserving this great old music tradition that’s in danger of becoming extinct, which is cool.”

The obsession turned into a standing gig when the group started putting together a dinner-theatre style monthly event at the Jordan Street Café in Brevard. Now the music has found an Asheville home at the Isis Music Hall, which plans to supplement the music with a special menu featuring Italian-themed dishes. The group is excited to add something new to the melting pot of Asheville’s local music scene.

“We’ve got tons of good worldly acoustic string music in this town,” says Smith. “Juan Benavides is a good flamenco player, there’s the whole gypsy jazz Django Reinhart scene, cajun music, and of course there’s tons of bluegrass and old time, Celtic. So we’re pretty excited to throw something totally new into the pot.”

The music is traditionally played on guitars and mandolins, but Smith and Guggino recruited Sanders to add violin, knowing that his virtuosity would ignite a spark. As with American old-time music, most of the songs are dance-based, which makes for a festive atmosphere. But the music often veers into a tongue-in-cheek syrupy romance zone, especially with Smith’s Italian vocals. But they joke that, for the most part, all their music comes out sounding like The Godfather, or an Olive Garden commercial. Overall, the group hopes to give Ashevilleans a chance to come out and be Italian for a while with a night full of good food, wine, music and friends.