Kruger Brothers

The Kruger Brothers is a trio of musicians who play new American folk music, or music within the folk genre inclusive of new compositional and thematic elements. The trio consists of Jens Kruger (banjo, harmony vocals), Uwe Kruger (guitar, lead and harmony vocals) and Joel Landsberg (bass, harmony vocals). The group is acknowledged as one of the most innovative ensembles active in Americana music today.

Originally from Switzerland, where the trio first formed, Jens Kruger and Uwe Kruger later moved to Wilkes County, NC. The brothers began playing North American folk music at an early age and were particularly inspired by recordings of Doc Watson, Flatt and Scruggs, Bill Monroe, and other progenitors of country, bluegrass and folk music. Their first public performances were as a duo, busking on the streets of cities throughout eastern and western Europe. Later, after gaining a recording contract as well as a radio show on SRG SSR, the Swiss public broadcaster, they teamed up with bass player Joel Landsberg, inaugurating a trio that has been playing professionally together since 1995. Landsberg is an American citizen from New York, NY. The first recording project to include Landsberg was Behind the Barn, Vol. 2, which was released in 1997.

Today the group is highly regarded within the world of acoustic music in North America, in particular by those within the industry. They have also gained the attention of some of the musicians, including Bill Monroe, Doc Watson, Tut Taylor, and Bobby Hicks, that once served as models. Watson once remarked that, "The Kruger Brothers are just about as fine a band as I’ve ever played with. … I love to play music with them.”

Although initially staying fairly close to a traditional repertoire (with the one exception of a rock inflected album, Access All Areas, released in 1996) the Kruger Brothers later turned to song writing and composition in order to draw more closely from their personal experiences. The result is a catalog of songs distinguished by rich detail and an insight into the delicacy and complexity of everyday life. The honesty of their writing has since become a hallmark of the trio’s work.

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