Folk-Rock With Teeth! Whether they're at a brewery pub, a
music festival, or on a street corner, Michigan-based band
The Northern Skies plays “bluegrass, Americana, and Celtic
music and pours it through an indie rock funnel to distill
something that sounds like a party out in the back yard. And
yes, there is moonshine at that party" (Revue Magazine Grand Rapids, MI).
The sound is created by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
Eric Engblade and dynamicly rounded out by violinist
Jeffrey Niemeier, bassist Eric Raby, and drummer Jake Castillo.
The band’s 2009 self titled release was called a "beautiful",
"up-north, front porch masterpiece" (Recoil Magazine, Grand Rapids MI).
Their 2012 newest release “Thick As Thieves” has “leveled expectations”
and has been hailed as a “homegrown, handmade work of art”
(On The Town, Grand Rapids, MI). The album was recorded at Stone House Studio
with Peter Fox as well as at Mackinaw Harvest studios in Grand Rapids, MI
with producer Michael Crittenden (Pop Evil, Hello Dave, Drew Nelson).
Thick As Thieves features performances by top notch regional musicians
such as Mark Lavengood (of Lindsey Lou and The Flatbelly’s)
and Erin Zindle and Randall Moore (of The Ragbirds).
Their live stage show, together with “even more inspiring musicianship
and songwriting” (Grand Rapids Press) of “Thick As Thieves”, results in
“an overwhelming amount of musical density, which completely smothers the
American right to pigeonhole a band into a particular genre” (Revue Magazine).
Some of their accomplishments include opening for national artists and bands
such as Ekoustik Hookah (2012), Greensky Bluegrass (2011),
The Ragbirds (2011), and Paul Thorn (2010).
They are also making a splash in the summer music festival scene with
performances at The Beaver Island Music Festival (2011),
Hiawatha Music Festival (2011), Farm Block Festival (2011),
Hoxeyville Music Festival (2010), The Wayfarer Roots and Bluegrass Festival (2010),
The Royal Oak Arts, Beats, and Eats Festival (2010, 2009)
as well as other regional community art/music festivals.
In the fall of 2009, they were selected as finalists
in the Great Lakes Song Writing Contest
for their song "Mission Accomplished" (www.GreatLakesSongs.com).
With a dedicated pace of over 100 regional and national bookings a year,
The Northern Skies keeps spreading its “accessible”, “infectious”,
”eccentric”, “off beat” and “danceable” Folk-Rock With Teeth
while touring the Great Lakes Region and beyond (Grand Rapids Press).
