Beloved Salt Lake City ‘Partygrass’ Band Pixie and The Partygrass Boys Release Self-Titled Album

Salt Lake City-based beloved purveyors of bluegrass, skiing, and silly outfits, Pixie and The Partygrass Boys have released their self-titled album via Americana Vibes. While the band has steadily released material since 2018, the new, nine track album exemplifies a capstone effort that displays the raucous energy of the band’s early success merged with careful curation that showcases every member’s talent through matured, breathtaking solos and well-honed compositions. Listen to the new album HERE.

The band’s decision to self-title the album marks a journey of taking collective pride in the process from song selection to studio production to composition to playback. “Although we’re proud of our other albums, we feel like we nailed this one,” explains mandolinist and vocalist Ben Weiss, “In the recording process, you normally feel like you’ve listened back too much and you don’t want to ever hear these songs again, but that’s not the case with this record.”

Visually, the album cover represents the band’s strong bonds beyond music as it’s a collage of polaroid photographs compiled by vocalist Katia “Pixie” Racine highlighting moments from goofy wedding photo booths to costume parties to some of the band’s earliest memories together, “It gives people a glimpse into the reality of the band,” says Weiss, “And we look back at one of those and think, wow, we were just babies.”

The nine tracks on Pixie and The Partygrass Boys’ self-titled effort speak to complicated nuances of love, reflective periods during the isolation, the power of nature and beyond. “Club Thing” is a celebration of love for someone who you used to know—seeing them find their place in the world, even if it doesn’t involve you. “This song is a proclamation of joy and gratitude; for love, for the forces of nature, for the ebbs and flows of life, the pain, the loss, the wonder, the revelry, the laughter of children. Gratitude for all of it, and the opportunity to have experienced some part of it with another,” Racine expounds. The band’s powder hound prowess is front and center in “There’s No Friends on a Powder Day.” “Skiers everywhere know this phrase but not everyone gets it,” violinist and vocalist Amanda Grapes Dellinger contends, “For me, a powder day is classified as over a foot of the fluffy stuff, and there is no better feeling in the world than smoothly gliding through the fresh, untracked pillows. Unfortunately, the incredible increase in the ski crowds these days means you have to be early and efficient to get the goods before it’s all gone. This song was written in frustration, on a missed powder day due to a late “friend.” Watch the lyric video for “There’s No Friends on a Powder Day” HERE.

“Cabin Fever” was written by Dellinger in a tiny, historic mining cabin on the ski slopes of the majestic Wasatch mountains. The track looks back at the silver linings during COVID when society was forced to slow down, get creative, simply, and cherish their loved ones. “Into Nothing” is a juxtaposition to the earlier track “Club Thing” with a steady four-on-the-floor beat with musical and rhythmic ebbs and flows that mirror the spiraling emotions experienced during a breakup. Described as “the angriest break-up song I’ve ever written, inspired by the healthiest break-up I’ve ever had” by vocalist, Katia “Pixie” Racine, the track is driven by the frustration of holding back during a healthy split—sometimes you just want to say everything you held back and watch it all burn away. The song explores the pain of letting go, expressing anger and the desire to erase the significance of a past relationship.

The penultimate “Marching On” was written by Racine in late spring 2020 in the midst of a pandemic after an earthquake had rocked Salt Lake City, and at the start of the Black Lives Matter protests when life felt fragile and unsure. As she drove down the street in her neighborhood on the verge of tears, she stopped to notice how perfect the sky, green trees, spring flowers, warm breeze, and Lucinda Williams on the stereo were. It called forth a myriad of emotions reflecting on how beautiful life is, how horrific and painful the world can be, and how some days it can be hard not to give up the fight. “I wrote this song as a reminder that things can get better, but they will only get better if we keep marching on, together. If we can find a way to sit down and all sing along, together. We must protect each other. We must stand up to injustice. We must realize that there is only one team—Team Human. No one is free until everyone is free. I wish that this song did not feel just as relevant today as it did when I wrote it, and I hope that one day it no longer will,” says Racine. The ensemble is augmented by friends joining them to sing in a choir which also brought forth memories of times of socially distanced concerts where the audience would scream and sing along with them mirroring the song’s impact of stressing community over the individual and fighting together. Producer Mike Sasich also fleshed out the song adding six open tuned guitars and ebos and crafted a one-of-a-kind drone that comes in and out of the background throughout the song.

Another assertion for the self-titled record was this is the first release to capture the fan favorite “Partygrass Theme Song,” concluding the album showcasing the band’s playful nature and kinship. “Who has a theme song any way? Well, we do,” says Weiss, “Our theme song is the end credits to many a Partygrass show and tells the story of our band’s inception. It may be silly, but it serves both as our curtain call and an overt marketing ploy as we sing our band’s name over and over and over, ensuring no one in attendance will ever forget.”

Pixie and the Partygrass Boys will close out 2024 with an appearance at Treefort Music Hall in Boise, Idaho on December 28th and their annual New Years Eve show at The Commonwealth Room in Salt Lake City, Utah on December 31st.

For more information and a complete list of tour dates, please visit pixieandthepartygrassboys.com.