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"The HillBenders, a talented five-piece band from Missouri, proved to be the perfect group…”
- Rolling Stone
"As I finished a new song in my studio, I was hoping to cool down by listening to [The HillBenders’] new record. But it has had the opposite effect, I am surrounded by the angels and excited as hell. I really like all of it. The recording is very special... Clean, dry, and intimate. It should win a f---cking Grammy, it’s that good!"
- Pete Townshend of The Who
“A sound that honors tradition while wandering boldly into new territory.”
- Grateful Web
“If The HillBenders prove anything, it’s the fact that its namesake combo clearly has the credence and conviction needed to carry them to the top ranks of today’s progressive bluegrass pantheon.”
- Bluegrass Today
Hailing from Springfield, Missouri, the Queen City of the Ozarks, The HillBenders blend bluegrass instrumentation with drums and a rock-and-roll upbringing, creating a sound that lands somewhere between acoustic string band traditions and silver-faced Americana. The band has built a reputation as a hardworking live act, playing everything from juke joints and festivals to theaters and performing arts centers across the country and around the world. Alongside a catalog of original music, The HillBenders are known for ambitious cross-genre projects, including their bluegrass interpretation of The Who’s rock opera “TOMMY” with producer Louis Meyers, which was featured in Rolling Stone and Billboard. Their most recent mash-up, BeatleGrass, is deepening fan appreciation while the band continues its nearly decade-long collaboration with jam band veteran Keller Williams on his acoustidelic string projects, including GratefulGrass, PettyGrass and KellerGrass. Founding members and first cousins Jimmy and Gary Rea are joined by jovial songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Morris of The Matchsellers, longtime Ozarks musician Jody Bilyeu of Big Smith and revered drummer John Anderson. Together, the group continues to expand its sound while staying rooted in the energy and vision that have defined the band from the beginning.