Ragged Union is a six-piece, hard-driving bluegrass band, performing original tunes and off-the-beaten-path standards, with a focus on the duet singing of husband-and-wife pair Geoff and Christina Union. Award-winning instrumental work, a powerful rhythmic drive, uptempo arrangements and edgy, outsider songwriting are the marks of their style. Influences include Red Allen, Danny Paisley, John Hartford, Danny Barnes, Alan Munde, Jesse McReynolds, and Vassar Clements, with a side of Texas and a healthy dose of the blues.
Geoff and Christina formed the band in the fall of 2013 after moving to Golden from Austin, Texas, and immediately began working the Front Range bluegrass scene, from Oskar Blues to Avogadro’s Number, Cervantes Other Side, Swallow Hill, and the Golden Clear Creek Concert Series. The band performed at several festivals including Bluegrass on the Arkansas (Salida) and the Kerrville Folk Festival (Kerrville, Texas)in 2014, and the 2015 calendar is filling up with events including the John Hartford Memorial Festival in Indiana, Ullr Festival (Golden), Midwinter Bluegrass Festival, High Mountain Hay Fever Festival in 2015. The “Ragged Union Bluegrass Trio” traveled to England in October 2014 and the full band has high hopes of making a return trip next year. Ragged Union’s debut cd, “Hard Row to Hoe”, is due out in the early Spring of 2015.