the BLUE RAGS
The Blue Rags are a revivalist, ragtime boogie-woogie band from Asheville, North Carolina. The band released two albums on the trendsetting Sub Pop label - 1997’s Rag-N-Roll and 1999’s Eat at Joe’s - and toured extensively in the late 90’s. The band’s sound, sometimes described as “punk ragtime," was an early influence on artists such as The Avett Brothers and Old Crow Medicine Show.
The Blue Rags were formed in Statesville, NC, in 1990 by singer/guitarist Scott Sharpe, singer/harpist Abe Reid and singer/pianist Jake Hollifield.
Stand-up bassist Bill Reynolds signed on a year later, and at his suggestion the group enlisted drummer Mike Rhodes; the 1996 addition of guitarist Aaron "Woody" Wood completed the Blue Rags' line-up, and the band's boogie-woogie punk sound earned a major cult following throughout the south thanks to a relentless touring schedule and opening dates for the like-minded Southern Culture on the Skids and Squirrel Nut Zippers. Upon signing to Sub Pop, the Blue Rags released their 1997 debut LP Rag N Roll; Eat at Joe's followed two years later.
-Jason Ankeny
Abe Reid, Bill Reynolds, Jake Hollifield, Scott Sharpe
photo by Woody Fender // Woody Wood, Bill Reynolds, Scott Sharpe, Jake Hollifield, Mike Rhodes
Blues to Bop Festival
Jake Hollifield, Mike Rhodes, Woody Wood, Bill Reynolds, Abe Reid, Scott Sharpe
Bill Reynolds, Mugger Mike Rhodes, Scott Sharpe, Jake Hollifield, Woody Wood
photo by Woody Fender // Bill Reynolds, Scott Sharpe, Woody Wood