Wise River Mercantile October 16, 2009

Cost: $10, tickets available at Rockin Rudy’s (237 Blaine), or at the door from 7:30-8 pm on the night of the concert.

Band Info:

Wise River Mercantile, an old-time string band, first formed in 2006 when two married couples met while playing music at a party in Bozeman. Band members include Brian Herbel (mandolin), Caroline Keys (guitar); and Rob (banjo) and Chelle Terwilliger (fiddle). “We not only discovered that we shared a love for playing old-time music, but we also realized we all had a dog whose name was (pronounced) ‘Sid’,” said Keys.

The Mercantile, which also plays at square and contra dances across the region, developed their “folk” repertoire the old-fashioned way by “learning old time fiddle tunes face to face from other musicians,” Keys said. The band members also “love to sing,”—which they don’t get to do very often at dances. Although they have performed at several festivals and local street venues down town, the MFS gig will be their first sit-down concert. “We’re especially excited to play at the MFS concert, because it means we get to work out some vocal arrangements that we might not have the occasion to do otherwise,” Keys said.

When members of the Mercantile first started playing together, the band took occasional “music retreats” to various Montana destinations such as Elkhorn Hot Springs where they would generate impromptu square dances. When on tour in western Montana, they like to stop between gigs to “busk” on street corners in towns such as Virginia City and Butte. The band increased its official public performances when the Terwilligers moved to Missoula last winter.

Like most folk musicians, the Mercantile band members maintain day jobs. Herbel works as an archaeologist, while Rob Terwilliger is a therapist; Chelle Twilliger coordinates the music program for the Y, and Keys, a graduate student at UM’s MFA creative writing program, also teaches music at the Y.

Chelle Twilliger formerly fiddled for JawBone Railroad and Finnegan Ridge, both based in Bozeman, while Keys played guitar for Missoula’s Broken Valley Roadshow.

Keys is quick to quote John Hartford when asked about the band’s philosophy about playing live music: “What should it be if it shouldn’t be fun?”

Official Website: http://montanafolk.org/concerts.html