Trampled by Turtles

Trampled by Turtles heads home to beautiful Bayfront Festival Park on July 6 with Houndmouth.

The band is from Duluth, Minnesota where frontman Dave Simonett initially formed the group as a side project in 2003.

At the time, Simonett had lost most of his music gear, thanks to a group of enterprising car thieves. Left with nothing more than an acoustic guitar, he began piecing together a new band, this time taking inspiration from bluegrass, folk, and other genres that didn’t rely on amplification.

Simonett hadn’t played any bluegrass music before, and he filled his lineup with other newcomers to the genre, including fiddler Ryan Young (who’d previously played drums in a speed metal act) and bassist Tim Saxhaug. Along with mandolinist Erik Berry and banjo player Dave Carroll, the group began carving out a fast, frenetic sound that owed as much to rock & roll as bluegrass.