Hipsters with guitars

Fruition is a five-piece act that is often labeled a bluegrass-alt country-jam band, and depending on one’s point of reference, the band can fit into any or all of those genres. Fruition’s three-piece vocal harmony is the kicker. It’s a sound older than Kentucky bourbon. When layered onto any kind of music, it makes just about anything sound like the Foggy Mountain Boys. But don’t write off Fruition as some kind of homemade back porch band. Each person in that vocal triple stack writes material for the band, material that ranges far and wide, from string band to soul. And it’s tying all that together that gives Fruition eclectic band status.

A Portland outfit, yes, but most of its members are not actually from Portland. There’s a local connection: Kellen Asebroek grew up in San Diego’s north county, in Vista. He moved to Portland at age 19 and says he met the others at open mics and coffee houses and such. Jay Cobb Anderson is vocalist/lead guitarist. Asebroek handles second guitar and vocals. Mimi Naja is the third voice/guitarist, with Jeff Leonard on bass and drummer Tyler Thompson. There is much doubling on mandolin and banjo and keyboards too. Fruition plays roots music like they invented the concept. At first, they were acoustic and rarely strayed from bluegrass. But cash flow has allowed the band to electrify over the years.

This is a live act. Not to say that Fruition recordings are flat, it’s just that the passion of their stage show burns jam-band hot, like the Dead on a good day, especially at the sorts of festivals Fruition books into, where time is long and distinctions blur and in the end nobody cares what genre was played, just that it lifted the bandstand for however long. This is likely the future, music that will not go easily into a simple category. What’s not to like?