Music is meant to be experienced. This is the ideal that inspires the eclectic, high-energy sound of the Lafayette, LA based band Vagabond Swing. The band creates the driving force behind their music with their uninhibited blending of styles and creativity. With their musical roots ranging from bluegrass to ska, the band produces a surprisingly smooth mixture of progressive Gypsy/Experimental/Circus-vibe/Swing tunes. Along with their melodic energy, the band members themselves bring on a show of vibrant, youthful spunk, which gives their performance a thrashing air of excitement. They recently released Soundtrack to an Untimely Death (2011), their first full-length album, with Grammy Award winning engineer, Tony Daigle. Dabbling with both serious and playful themes, Soundtrack is a continuous movement of mutually complex and easy-listening songs. The record is broken into a five-chapter story, which effectively turns the entire piece into a multipart gypsy ballad. Band members include: Jon Stone (mandolin, vocals, percussion), Jesse Duplechain (guitar, melodica, background vocals), Bryan Webre (guitar, keys, programming, percussion, background vocals), Hayden Talley (upright bass), Josh LeBlanc (trumpet, keys, percussion, background vocals), Steven Pilcher (trumpet, keys, percussion, vocals), and Roy Durand (drums, vocals, percussion).
