Demolition String Band loves working with everyone from professional event staff to house party hosts to newly engaged couples, keenly matching their needs with the skills and performance experience that your gathering deserves. References and testimonials are available upon request. Demolition String Band founders Boo Reiners and Elena Skye have logged countless miles worldwide together as performing and recording artists. Equally at home on a festival stage with a full band, or performing duo at a cozy pub in the west of Ireland, their repertoire of traditional music, bluegrass, folk, country and Americana is extensive.
Boo and the gang were great to work with. We had people grooving to the music during my 40th at poolside. The weather held off for this memorable event! Would have them again.
Response from Demolition String Band:
Thank you Paul and Mary for your warm hospitality! It was a pleasure to part of your gathering!
Photos from this event
I needed an acoustic duo for a class on sound recording at the School of Visual Arts. Boo and Elena came as a duo and were great. They were virtuosic, flexible and fun. I will have them back again and can't wait to see the whole band.
Response from Demolition String Band:
Thank you, Professor! It was a pleasure to be at SVA with tomorrow's award winning documentary filmmakers, let's do it again!
Boo and Elena were amazing. Their music is fantastic and the entire crowd from our event LOVED them beyond words. Without them, our event would not have had the same amazing vibe! I would 100% hire them for every event ever!
Response from Demolition String Band:
Athena! You are the hostess with the mostess! Anytime you want us back on that rooftop with the 360 degree vistas of Lower Manhattan, we will be there, with bells on! Thanks again!
Price Range: $1000.00 and up
Gig Length: 30 - 240 minutes
Languages: English
Insurance: $1,000,000 - single-event policy
Unions: AFM
Acoustic: Demolition String Band trio can supply your event with traditional American acoustic music -- bluegrass, folk, hillbilly, country, with some dashes of rock, pop and jazz featuring vocals, harmonies, banjo, mandolin, guitar and upright bass. A fourth piece will be fiddle.
Electric: Demolition String Band in our four piece electric format can supply your event with traditional American music -- twangy country, hillbilly rock, singer-songwriter, Americana, bluegrass, folk, with some dashes of rock, pop and jazz in a mix of covers, classics and originals. Featuring vocals, harmonies, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin and bass. Adding fiddle, keyboard and/or steel guitar is easy, just let us know!
Demolition String Band loves playing clubs, festivals, concert halls, live radio and TV across the USA, Ireland, The Netherlands, Germany, Scotland, England. They have shared stages with The Avett Brothers, Ryan Adams, Asleep At The Wheel, Patti Smith, Roger McGuinn, Joan Osborne, Ricky Scaggs, Southern Culture On The Skids, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot and many others.
Elena Skye & Boo Reiners front their Demolition String Band and harmonize truth and lies, joy and heartbreak, despair and redemption to a crowded, dusty dance floor, all the while redefining what a string band actually is and can be. Connecting with fans everywhere they go, the notoriety and critical acclaim for Demolition String Band among the roots music scene around their NYC home base and beyond has been earned the honest way — one gig at a time. (link hidden)
BILLBOARD: “Demolition's members are across-the-board connoisseurs: master instrumentalists, lyricists and entertainers."
VILLAGE VOICE: “Live, Skye wears her heart on her sleeve.”
ORLANDO WEEKLY: “The Demolition String Band is totally righteous."
Nora Guthrie IN THE EXAMINER: 'Go Coney Island, Roll On The Sand' seemed like a light and funny combination of bluegrass and sand--and that's why I picked them," says Nora. "They have a good sense of humor and are lovely people."
TIME OUT NEW YORK: “Singer Elena Skye is the perfect balance between spunk and pathos that's at the heart of country.”
SAN DIEGO ENTERTAINER: "The duo bristles with a restlessness that’s at the heart of some of the most exciting American roots music."
STAR LEDGER: “Elena Skye and Boo Reiners and their accompanists are traditionalists, and their appreciation of old-time bluegrass is absolutely sincere — there’s nothing staid about their delivery, which has the swing of Ricky Skaggs and the comfort of Jerry Garcia’s Old and in the Way.”
THE HERALD (GLASGOW, SCOTLAND): “They had the Tron’s backroom swinging like a honky tonk the minute they hit the stage…another Big, Big Country Festival find.”
THE SANTA MONICA MIRROR: "Skye's singing is powerful and the twang from Reiners’ guitar is equally memorable…they don't file down the rough edges and their music has a whisky wallop to it.”
minimum stage dimensions outdoors: 20ft X 10ft X 1ft fully covered from rain and sun with AC power supplied
minimum stage dimensions indoors: 20ft X 10ft X 1ft with AC power supplied
| September 10, 2022 • 3:30pm - 5:30pm | House Party |
| May 14, 2022 • 2:00pm - 4:00pm | Birthday Party |
| March 14, 2022 • 2:00pm - 5:00pm | Campus Event |
| June 24, 2021 • 1:00pm - 4:00pm | Corporate Event |
Demolition String Band acoustic trio, quartet, quintet (3) hour engagement
mandolin/guitar guitar/guitar banjo/mandolin
A) Will The Circle Be Unbroken BR b/g
A) I’ve Endured ES b/g
G) Eight More Miles To Louisville BR b/g
B) That’s How I Can Count On You b/g
G) Ocean Of Diamonds b/g waltz
D) I Wish You Knew ES b/g
B) Misfortune ES b/g
B) Sailor Girl ES b/g
G) Oh Suzannah b/g
D) I’ll Fly Away ES m/g
C) Hard Ain't It Hard ES m/g
G) Knoxville Girl m/g waltz
G) Big Sciota m/g
D) West Virginia ES m/g
G) Keep Your Distance BR m/g
G) Loving Cup BR m/g
SET BREAK
A) Clinch Mountain Backstep b/m
G) Big Sciota m/b
A) Little Georgia Rose BR m/b
G) Baby Won't You Come Home ES m/g
C) If I Needed You m/g
D) Liberty m/g
G) Can’t You Hear Me Calling BR b/g
C) Go Coney Island ES b/g
G) Paradise BR b/g waltz
G) Lonesome Road Blues BR b/g
F) Sweat of My Brow ES g/g
D) Ashes Of Love ES m/g
C) Hold Whatcha Got ES g/g
F) I’ll Try Not To Cry Tonight ES g/g
E) Dress Of Roses ES b/g
E) Deep Elum Blues BR b/g
A) Midnight Moonlight BR b/g
C) Miss Me When I’m Gone b/g
B) Old Blue ES b/g
B) Ida Red b/g
SET BREAK
B) Where The Wild Wild Flowers Grow ES b/g
D) I Hear A Voice Calling m/g waltz
G) Friend Of The Devil BR m/g
D) Your Long Journey m/g
A) Pig In A Pen BR b/g
G) Worried Man Blues BR b/g
D) Panama Red BR b/g
G) Trials, Troubles, Tribulations g/g
A) Springtime of Life ES g/g waltz
G) Comin’ On Strong g/g
D) Rain and Snow BR m/g
A) Ripple BR m/g
C) Dim Lights, Thick Smoke ES b/g
B) Bluest Man In Town BR b/g waltz
E) Hang Your Head In Shame ES b/g
D) Soldier’s Joy b/m
D) I Been All Round This World BR m/g
Em) Shady Grove BR m/g
C) Dark Hollow BR m/g
F) I Never Will Marry ES m/g
G) Why You Been Gone So Long BR m/g
F) What Would You Give m/g waltz
C) Goin’ Up The Country ES m/g
C) Close To The Penny ES m/g
G) Long Black Veil m/g
A) Go Home Little Girl BR m/g waltz
F) Sin City g/g waltz
Gm) You Led Me To The Wrong ES g/g
E) Skippin’ In The Mississippi Dew BR g/g
Bb) So Long, It’s Been Good To Know You ES g/g
C) Rider BR b/g
D) C’est La Vie m/g
G) Brokedown Palace BR m/g
A) Big Sandy m/g
A) Bill Cheatham m/g
D) Angeline The Baker m/g or m/b
A) Pike County Breakdown m/b
A) Roll On Buddy, Roll On BR m/b
A) Salt Creek m/b D) Saint Ann’s Reel m/b
D) How Mountain Girls Can Love ES m/b
G) Cumberland Gap m/b
Gm) Gonna Get Through This World ES b/g
Bb) Ain’t Nobody Gonna Miss Me BR b/g
G) John Henry ES b/g
G) Workin’ On A Building BR b/g
D) Star Spangled Banner b/g
Gm) Little Boy Blues b/g
Demolition String Band electric, (3) hour engagement
SET ONE
A) WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN
B) WHO TAUGHT YOU
E) IT STILL HURTS
C) JACKSON
C) I DON’T KNOW, I CAN’T SAY
F) I’LL TRY NOT TO CRY
G) THINKIN’ ABOUT DRINKIN’
D) JAMBALAYA
E) DRESS OF ROSES
E) DEEP ELLUM BLUES
D) LIKE A PRAYER
G) BABY WON’T YOU COME HOME
D) C’EST LA VIE
G) LOVING CUP
C) GONE SO LONG
D) I WANNA WEAR WHITE
D) DRINKIN’ WHISKEY
G) TRUE LOVE NEVER DIES/DOVETALE
INSERTABLES:
Bb) HOLD WHATCHA GOT
C) DIFFERENT DRUM
SET TWO
E) BOONANZA
A) SHE WENT OUTTA TOWN
G) YOUR CHEATIN’ HEART or A) BIGGEST PIECE OF NOTHIN’
D) PROUD MARY
B) HIGH ON A MOUNTAIN
E) IF I COULD, THEN I WOULD
G) SHEENA IS A PUNK ROCKER
C) GO CONEY ISLAND
E) OOH LAS VEGAS
F#) UNDONE IN SORROW
E) GET WHATCHA GOT AN’ GO
D) UP CLOSE
Am) ARE YOU ARMED
E) CHANGE THE LOCKS
G) HEAVEN
G) HARD DAY’S NIGHT
INSERTABLES:
G) YOU AIN’T WOMAN ENOUGH D) STILL THE ONE
D) WEST VIRGINIA E) SON OF A PREACHERMAN
B) MISFORTUNE (side stick) G) GARDEN OF LOVE
G) BOTTLE LET ME DOWN C) CLOSE TO THE PENNY
G) I DON’T CARE (Buck Owens) D) BEEN DOIN’ TIME
C) SPACE ODDITY B) I KNOW YOU RIDER
C) GOIN’ UP THE COUNTRY G) FRIEND OF THE DEVIL
D) FREE FALLIN’ G) LOVE HURTS
D) BUCKAROO > MAMA TRIED E) DON’T TOSS US AWAY (Lone Justice)
A) BACK TO MEMPHIS E) KING OF THE MOUNTAIN (SCOTS)
E) GOIN’ DOWN ROAD FEELIN’ BAD
C) YOU’RE GONNA MISS ME G) KEEP YOUR DISTANCE
C) YOU ARE SPRINGTIME F) BLUE BAYOU
G) THE LOVE EACH OTHER D) I’LL BE THERE IF YOU EVER WANT ME
F) YOU WRECK ME A) WHEN I PAINT MY MASTERPIECE
A) GOIN’ BACK TO MEMPHIS Eb) ACROSS THE ALLEY FROM THE ALAMO
Acoustic instrumentals for wedding ceremony, fiddle, guitar, mandolin:
D) Amazing Grace
D) Ashokan Farewell waltz
F) Carolina In The Fall
A) Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
G) Dimming Of The Day
D) Far Away waltz
C) Forever Young
D) From Here On In (The Road Home)
F) From This Moment
A) Here, There, Everywhere
A) In My Life
A) I Will
G) Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring
G) Jethro’s Lullaby
F) Josefin’s Waltz
F) Lo! How A Rose E'er Blooming
G) Locks at Athy
G/D) Lover’s Waltz
A) Margaret’s Waltz
D) Midnight On The Water
G) Ode To Joy
F) Oh, Shenandoah
D) Pachelbel’s Canon
E) Poppy's Waltz
D) The Promise
A) Rainbow Connection
C) Roxianna Waltz
Am) Star Of The County Down waltz
Gm) Sunrise, Sunset waltz
C) Up 18 North
Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, Rose Maddox, Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams, Jimmy Martin, Louvin Brothers, Ola Belle Reed, Jim and Jesse, Hazel Dickens, George Jones, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Grateful Dead, Kris Kristofferson, John Prine, Emmylou Harris, Del McCoury, Seldom Scene
minimum (2) powered speaker mains 15" two-way on stands, (1) powered subwoofer, (2) 12" powered monitor wedges, (1) bass guitar combo amp
AC power, extensions and power strips
New York City, NY 
Pianist
70 Verified Bookings Bernadette M. said “The music boutique was excellent they played classical music for my ceremony and modern music for my cocktail hour it was perfect.”
New York City, NY
Singing Guitarist
47 Verified Bookings Tiffany K. B. said “Jonathan was amazing. He is super talented- knows 500 plus songs of many genres. He has the best personality and delivers his music in a fun, entertaining,…”
New York City, NY
Jazz Band
8 Verified Bookings Andrew D. said “They were perfect as a jazz / New Orleans style band for a wedding cocktail hour!”
New York City, NY
Americana Band
10 Verified Bookings Nicholas W. said “I kept getting people coming up to me saying "I love the band!" They were a really nice sound for our outdoor wedding, and kicked it up into…”
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