Appalachian Swing was formed in 2021, the result of a show performed by Adam Schlenker, Hayes Griffith, Todd Sams, and George Welling. Adam and Hayes were hosting a monthly series of Americana concerts, each with a different theme and cast of musicians, at a club in Columbus. One such show featured the music of the Kentucky Colonels, a short-lived but highly influential southern California bluegrass band led by brothers Roland and Clarence White.
That concert was so much fun and so musically rewarding that the guys decided to form a band and carry things forward. Taking its name from the Kentucky Colonels’ landmark second album, Appalachian Swing took a somewhat unusual approach to repertoire by deciding to focus almost exclusively on the music of the Colonels, as well as various auxiliary projects by the White brothers.
Adam takes pains to point out that his is not a “tribute band” that tries to copy the Colonels’ recordings note for note, lick for lick, in an attempt to sound exactly like the earlier band. “We are heavily influenced by the Colonels,” he says. “Their sound is a huge part of our musical DNA, especially mine and Todd’s. But we’re not trying to just copy their music. There’s more to it than that.
Appalachian Swing has an instrumental front line that rivals any band in the country! Learn more about the band:
https://5thfretproductions.com/appalachianswingbluegrass.html
Performance Date: Saturday, February 28th, 2026, at 7:30 PM
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