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2–5: dadweed
Sounds like: Sunrise under a willow tree in the country.
Let’s address the name first. None of the members of the bluegrass trio dadweed, all in their 20s and early 30s, is a dad. The weed, however? It’s around, but not, like, in an overexcited or glorifying way. Speaking on the morning of April 21, when the band had just played Bend’s HomeGrown Music Festival, a 4/20 celebration, they had no stories to share about sparking up onstage right at 4:20 pm, for example.
“Pot is very much something that unites us all,” bassist Ian “Yuck” Lindsay says. “We hang out with a lot of hippies, and it’s a nod to the culture we largely play around.”
These are real-deal Eugene smokers, after all. The three members of dadweed—Lindsay and guitarists Clayton Eiberg and Keenan Dorn—met at the University of Oregon but now all live in Portland. The way they found each other musically is cinematic at a minimum and verging on the cosmic.
“What happened is, we were at Jamfest and the willow tree changed me,” Lindsay says.
To translate: All three of them were at McKenzie River Jamfest, a DIY, backyard music festival every summer east of Eugene, right on the water. A willow tree is strung with lights, and couches underneath beckon people to jam. At Jamfest 2022, the three of them were picking a lot of bluegrass and folk-style songs under the willow tree every night, often until sunrise. Lindsay finally decided he needed to get an upright bass and really commit to the bluegrass genre. “It lit a fire under me,” he says. Dadweed officially formed in spring of 2023.
It’s atypical for a bluegrass band to consist of two guitars and an upright bass—where are the mandolin, banjo and fiddle?—but they’re not looking to add musicians to their core of three. Live-show and recording-studio collaborations are always welcome, though.
The trio rehearses every week and takes the band seriously, constantly brainstorming new ideas, scheduling and booking. Onstage, though, their friendship shines through, with plenty of chatting and goofing around. They’re clearly having a blast.
“We are loose, but at the same time, the music is pretty tight,” Dorn says.
A typical set is grounded in the shitkicking, upbeat, fast style that bluegrass is known for, but the band also has a soft spot for slow, heartfelt waltzes. They go major scale, minor scale, midtempo—the full spectrum of what a blend of folk, jazz and bluegrass has to offer.
Dorn has played bluegrass the longest, with childhood memories of his mom playing music by the late Tony Rice in the car. Eiberg picked up bluegrass about five years ago, and Lindsay is the newest to the genre, having committed to it under the aforementioned willow tree. Lindsay was previously on more of a hip-hop trajectory— “Yuck” was his rap name that has stuck around—and counts jazz, R&B and neo-soul as his influences. During a show, dadweed is as likely to cover John Prine and bluegrass founder Bill Monroe as something unexpected like Tears for Fears, Tom Petty or Bon Iver.
Listeners who want an intro to dadweed but aren’t so sure about bluegrass: Try their first-ever single, a cover of Petty’s “Yer So Bad.” It’s unexpected but familiar enough, and highlights their soaring three-part vocal harmonies.
On the goofier side is Eiberg’s original “I Showed Up High,” about mistakenly showing up to a second date baked. (“I showed up high/the redness of my face will match the color of my eye/I need a little something to help the days go by/I showed up high.”) Fun fact: It’s his grandmother’s favorite dadweed song because she thinks he showed up to the date in too high of spirits.
Dadweed plays almost every week in Portland and looks forward to ramping up touring over the next few months, plus enjoying a little boost from being named one of WW‘s Best New Bands.
“We’re super stoked to share the dadweed around,” Dorn says.