Downtown Ramblers is a bluegrass band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The music is based on traditional bluegrass but with influences from all kinds of music, including Swedish folk music, pop, and jazz. This blend adds up to something we like to think of as nordic urban bluegrass.
It all started in December 2005, when Emelie Junsten asked Pär Eriksson if he wanted to play some country music. After a few weeks, Martin Blomberg and Oskar Reuter also joined the band, along with bass player Pär Engstrand and drummer Johan Jansson: Downtown Ramblers was formed. In the beginning we played covers of different artists such as Dolly Parton, Gillian Welch, and Alison Krauss and Union Station. However, the focus has gradually changed, and we decided to dedicate the band to bluegrass only. By that time Oskar, the mandolin player, also started to write and produce songs.When bass player Pär Engstrand moved away to Germany and drummer Johan Jansson left the band, Kalle Annerhult joined us on bass, and Downtown Ramblers took the form that still remains the same to this day.
We did several gigs and showcases before late 2007, which was a turning point for us. Downtown Ramblers won the Swedish Bluegrass Championships in Sälen in September, 2007, and suddenly we became part of Sweden's country and bluegrass scene. During the summer of 2008, we performed at almost every major country and bluegrass festival in Sweden. Later that year, in December, we released our self-titled first album, with all original material.
Only a few months after the CD release, in May 2009, Downtown Ramblers attended the European World Of Bluegrass Festival (EWOB. www.ewob.eu) in Voorthuizen, Netherlands and was voted 1 European Bluegrass Band 2009 by our fellow musicians. The award gives us the chance to go to the International Bluegrass Music Association's World of Bluegrass 2010 (IBMA, www.ibma.org) in Nashville, USA. We plan to do all we can to represent European bluegrass there.
We hope to keep touring all over the world as much as possible. We have also started to plan our next CD, which hopefully will be released during 2010.
Looking forward to meet you all out there. Take care!
/Oskar, Emelie, Kalle, Pär, and Martin
Downtown Ramblers and Tim O'Brien, Wichita
Downtown Ramblers | MySpace Music Videos
