The Devil Makes Three

This Santa Cruz-based trio warps time and space by mining the traditions of bluegrass, Appalachian folk and a smidge of ragtime to produce throwback roots music that deserves the country designation far more than anything coming out of Nashville. Guitarist Cooper McBean, upright-bassist Lucia Turino and guitarist/lead vocalist Pete Bernhard...

By Eryc Eyl

March 19, 2009

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

This Santa Cruz-based trio warps time and space by mining the traditions of bluegrass, Appalachian folk and a smidge of ragtime to produce throwback roots music that deserves the country designation far more than anything coming out of Nashville. Guitarist Cooper McBean, upright-bassist Lucia Turino and guitarist/lead vocalist Pete Bernhard don't just live in the past, however. On the group's forthcoming album — the cleverly titled Do Wrong Right — the Devil Makes Three explores timely economic and political issues while also riffing on timeless themes of greed and grief, despair and dysfunction. Bernhard even manages to slip in a reference to PowerPoint without seeming overly arch. Most important, this back-to-basics threesome knows how to turn even the saddest song into a barn-burning, squaredance-reeling, hayseed-chewing party.

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.