Best of Cleveland 2015: Newgrass Band

Armed with three-part harmonies and an affinity for the mandolin and upright bass, Abie Stefanchik, Brendan O'Malley and Adam Reifsnyder set out to form a bluegrass act in 2011. But years of playing heavy metal, jazz and acoustic coffeehouse tunes led Honeybucket to a far less traditional sound. "We were writing pop and rock songs but playing them with bluegrass instruments, so we sort of settled into the fact that we were this modern and old time-y hybrid," says vocalist and guitarist Reifsnyder. The band released a new EP, Stompin' Grounds, in August and shows its versatility with "Family Band," its signature tongue-in-cheek, hoedown-style fare; "I Am Blind," a rare bow-on-bass ballad about mortality; and a molasses-steeped cover of Cleveland rapper Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness." The video for the cover song, in which the band parties with fans after a day of working hard on a farm, embraces the group's originality. "We wanted to make it a little bit hip-hop, but it's funny because we are wearing overalls on a farm and there's slow-motion chickens running," Reifsnyder says. honeybucketohio.com