Three Tall Pines is an acoustic quartet with both ties to the old and leanings toward the new.  Their original songs and creative instrumentation look forward, while embracing traditional acoustic sound and telling stories of early American life.

Songwriters Dan Bourdeau and Joe Lurgio had years of experience writing songs and performing them together, before working together in Three Tall Pines’ current formation of a four-piece musical co-op.  Expansion into a trio in 2005 enriched their sound, with the inclusion of Gian Pangaro on upright bass and dobro; the following year brought addition of Emily Rideout on fiddle and viola.  Within a year of their establishment as a quartet, the Pines recorded their debut studio album, ‘Short While Ago’.

‘Short While Ago’ has brought Three Tall Pines both critical acclaim and widespread exposure, through increased demand for bookings in the Northeast, and radio play across the country.  The album was recorded in fall of 2007, at Signature Sounds (Pomfret, CT), with the acoustic music expertise of recording engineer Mark Thayer.  Original tracks from ‘Short While Ago’ have been lauded in reviews and competitions, including top prizes from Ourstage.com (#1 in bluegrass, July 2008); Ossipee Valley Songwriting Contest (third place, August 2008); and, a finalist ranking in the national Newsong Contest run by NPR’s Mountain Stage.

Three Tall Pines is based in the Boston area, and enjoys regular performance opportunities throughout the Northeast.  In recent months they have appeared at venues from Maine (Ossipee Valley Bluegrass Festival) to New York City (Joe’s Pub).   They appear frequently in clubs and on concert series in Boston and Providence, and were recently heard at the EMS Nor’easter festival in Plymouth, NH.

The members of Three Tall Pines make diverse contributions to the quartet’s unique sound.  Bourdeau and Lurgio provide the raw material, offering up carefully crafted original songs, each with its own unique content and character.   The quartet works as a group to shape each tune, seeking out ways to enhance and embellish its message.  Lurgio’s classic, brilliant mandolin sound, Rideout’s bright fiddle and deep viola, and Pangaro’s powerful rhythm and stylistic versatility all serve to enrich each heartfelt melody.