This year on Valentine's Day, mountain folkies The Black Twig Pickers paid tribute to their departed pal Jack Rose at Issue Project Room. We've got the whole show for you right here.

Before You Press Play

Hometown: Ironto, Virginia

The Facts: The story of Appalachian folksters the Black Twig Pickers' rise to prominence reads like a cruel joke. The decade-old trio — Isak Howell on guitar, Nathan Bowles on percussion and Mike Gangloff on fiddle — got a big career bump from the summer 2009 release of Jack Rose & the Black Twig Pickers, a joint effort with the acclaimed guitarist and former bandmate in the group Pelt. Just months later, Rose died of an apparent heart attack, and the group was left to contend with their newfound recognition alone. Luckily, the Twigs are no mere backing band; in their ten years together they have built a reputation, however modest, for crafting raw, vibrant songs in a genre cluttered with tired revivalists.

The Sound: The components of old-timey music — guitar, banjo, fiddle, washboard — but brimming with a contemporary spark.

Latest Release: Jack Rose & the Black Twig Pickers (2009) on VHF

He Said, She Said: "The Twigs’ interest in roots music is divorced from rock ’n’ roll styling or the intentions of the period piece. The spark here comes from the feeling of sitting around a cabin porch with a bunch of friends, picking on songs that are older than the branches swaying overhead." - Ethan Covey, Dusted Magazine

"The Black Twig Pickers clearly mean business, incorporating elements of bluegrass and country into songs that are resolutely not twee, but salt-of-the-earth earnest (that’s earnest borne out of blood sweat and tears, rather than some marketable commodity)." - Ewen Millar, The Skinny

The Setlist:

1. "Last Payday at Coal Creek" - traditional (0:42 - 4:20)
2. "Laid Ten Dollars Down" - traditional (6:01 - 9:15)
3. "Don't Drink Nothing But Corn" - traditional (9:50 - 12:01)
4. "Big Fish" - traditional (13:10 - 19:00)
5. "The Cuckoo" - traditional (20:32 - 24:16)
6. "Wild Horse of Stony Point" - traditional (25:51 - 28:21)
7. "River's Flooded and Robin's Drowned" - Black Twig Pickers (31:40 - 35:18)
8. "Dan Friend's Piece" - traditional (36:17 - 39:49)
9. "Love My Honey" - traditional / "Callahan" - traditional (41:12 - 47:08)