The Kansas-based outfit Split Lip Rayfield play progressive bluegrass and alternative country with an energy and swagger closer to punk and metal. They are known for their unique, all-acoustic instrumentation, which includes a homemade one-string bass made out of a gas tank. They released their self-titled debut in 1998, and continued issuing studio albums like 2004's Should Have Seen It Coming as well as several live recordings. Their sixth full-length, On My Way, arrived in 2017. An outgrowth of the group Scroat Belly (though it didn't take long for them to outlive the band that spawned them), Split Lip Rayfield formed in 1995. Their lineup included guitarist/dobroist Kirk Rundstrom and one-string bassist Jeff Eaton, whose instrument, named the Stitchgiver, was fashioned from the gas tank of a 1978 Mercury Grand Marquis, a piece of hickory, and a line from a weedwhacker. Banjoist/vocalist Eric Mardis joined the group, replacing original member David Lawrence, and the trio debuted in 1998 with a self-titled LP issued on the Bloodshot label. In the Mud followed a year later; by this time, singer and mandolin player Wayne Gottstine had expanded the lineup to four pieces. The new millennium saw the release of a third effort, Never Make It Home, which arrived in stores in late 2000. After three years of touring, which saw the group opening for everyone from Del McCoury to Nashville Pussy, Split Lip Rayfield recorded and released a fourth long-player, Should Have Seen It Coming, in 2004. In early 2006, Rundstrom (who had also released a few solo records) was diagnosed with cancer. He continued to perform with the band for months as he fought and underwent treatment, but Rundstrom ultimately succumbed to the disease in February 2007, just about a week after playing what would be his last show. I'll Be Around, dedicated to the memory of Rundstrom, appeared in 2008. Never Make It Home, a feature documentary intended to be a concert film but ultimately focusing on Rundstrom's final days, premiered in 2011. The band's sixth studio album, On My Way, was released in 2017. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Split Lip Rayfield, Joe Johnson

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