Album Notes

The Ridgewood Boys are Rick and Chris Saenz, a father and son duo whose family harmonies and spare musical arrangements are well suited to their traditional Appalachian singing style. They specialize in old-time and early bluegrass music, played and sung in a way that appeals to modern ears while remaining true to the source. One comment often heard after a performance is, "I haven't heard those great songs in years! How come no one plays them anymore?" The Ridgewood Boys are devoted to preserving and promoting those great songs.
Rick Saenz is a writer and bookseller living in Adair County, Kentucky with his wife and six children. His sixteen-year-old son Chris helps out with the family business when his homeschooling studies permit. Rick and Chris never played or sang music together until they attended a bluegrass jam camp at MerleFest in 2003, taught by Pete Wernick. Inspired by the camp and encouraged by Pete, they immersed themselves in the Appalachian music that permeates their adopted home.

Rick and Chris studied bluegrass and old-time music with some of the best teachers and musicians working today. They became thoroughly familiar with the recorded work of old-time and bluegrass musicians of the past. They built up a working repertoire that now exceeds 200 songs. They refined their performing skills by seeking out opportunities to play before the toughest of audiences, folks who had grown up steeped in the music.

The Ridgewood Boys are now frequent guests at musical events in southwest Virginia and eastern Kentucky. They released their first CD in the fall of 2005.