The sound of the Portland, Oregon’s Foghorn Stringband could have come barreling through the grille-cloth of those big console radios in the living rooms of the 1950’s. Led by mandolin player and Orcas Island native Caleb Klauder, Foghorn’s ferocious groove attack transfers old-time music to a distinctively modern age with tight instrumental work and a line-up consisting of fiddle, banjo, mandolin, bass and guitar. And on Thursday, August 20, Lopez Island will be treated to a taste of this music firsthand at the Woodmen Hall at 7:30 p.m.

“The last couple of years has seen some changes in the band,” Orcas Island native and original Foghorn Stringband mandolin player Caleb Klauder commented. “Our original member and fiddle player Sammy Lind and I are still in the band as well as Peter Leone on banjo. We have a couple of new members. The band sounds every bit as good as it ever has, with much more dynamic range. There has been great crowd response to the new lineup and the same Foghorn energy exists, as well as the high-energy fun.”

Their sound evokes the traditional music of rural America. Their tight intstrumental work and line-up – fiddle, banjo, mandolin, bass and guitar – is reminiscent of early bluegrass as well, but their powerful approach is whole-heartedly old-time, centered largely on the fiddle. Devoted to the interpretation and performance of American stringband music, their style encompasses early country music, the fiddle repertoire of the Southern Appalachians and the Midwest, and the stringband sounds of the Piedmont region. The band is also playing at Oddfellows on Orcas Island the following night August 21 at 8 p.m.