“These guys are good!” – K. Kuykendall

What do you get when you pull together five talented musicians, who, combined, can play at least a dozen instruments, who bring with them backgrounds in nearly as many musical genre, and who can craft exceptional original music?  Good — no, great — music!  When Kitsy Kuykendall, an IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award recipient, came to town, she found that bluegrass was alive and well in the North Country, and that The Mark Kreitzer Band could dish up tunes that set her feet tapping.  Had she delayed her return to Virginia, she might have learned that this band handles old-time and jazz (traditional & gypsy) with equal facility.  The band’s plugged-in alter ego, The ’53 Swingbillies, delivers driving country-swing and rockabilly rhythms for dance crowds. In either guise, these bands bring their love of music and breadth and depth of musical acumen to concerts, dances, festivals, honky-tonks, weddings, parties, and corporate events.

The band’s ability to impress even a bluegrass connoisseur shouldn’t be surprising.  Mark Kreitzer, the band’s leader and lead singer, has pulled together some of the finest musicians in the Upper Midwest.  The band features Mark, Jed Germond, Anthony Ihrig, Chuck Kreitzer, and Tom Schaefer.  They perform together, in smaller combinations, or with other talented guest musicians, recently including Eric Christopher, Catie Jo Pidel, Tom Peterson, Charlie Smith, Jon Garon, Clay Hess, and Jack Lawrence.