Split Lip Rayfield

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 <a href="spotify:artist:2wIlzRCjGWujFpdrInszoR">Scroat Belly</a> (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 <a href="spotify:artist:6ol6x1B6tGPISqYDtnPbec">Kirk Rundstrom</a> 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 <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Bloodshot%22">Bloodshot</a> 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 <a href="spotify:artist:1yGXkI3DrirCcXv3uwJjGv">Del McCoury</a> to <a href="spotify:artist:73sawKQrhPG7HXTDRZGfOX">Nashville Pussy</a>, Split Lip Rayfield recorded and released a fourth long-player, Should Have Seen It Coming, in 2004. In early 2006, <a href="spotify:artist:6ol6x1B6tGPISqYDtnPbec">Rundstrom</a> (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 <a href="spotify:artist:6ol6x1B6tGPISqYDtnPbec">Rundstrom</a> 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 <a href="spotify:artist:6ol6x1B6tGPISqYDtnPbec">Rundstrom</a>, appeared in 2008. Never Make It Home, a feature documentary intended to be a concert film but ultimately focusing on <a href="spotify:artist:6ol6x1B6tGPISqYDtnPbec">Rundstrom</a>'s final days, premiered in 2011. The band's sixth studio album, On My Way, was released in 2017. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi