Following information is intended for promotional & venue use only
PRESS KIT
The True Life Troubadours have a lot to offer to music lovers. This group combines a vintage sound, with exceptional picking and harmonies. As well as loving and authentic renditions of traditional tunes, with special attention given to obscure and underplayed numbers, the band features original music faithfully following the style of traditional bluegrass. The unique yet traditional sound of the True Life Troubadours has been attracting a lot of attention, and in 2015 they band performed on Vern's stage at the California Bluegrass Associations Grass Valley Festival, on the main stage at the Northern California Bluegrass Society's Good Old Fashioned Festival, and at the Hickstival Bluegrass Festival.
"I had the pleasure of performing with the True Life Troubadours on a few gigs and had a great time! They are a wonderful band, dedicated to real traditional bluegrass. And I don’t say that lightly! Bandleader Victor Skidanenko is, in my opinion, the best young mandolin (and banjo, by the way) player in the area. I see great things for the future of the True Life Troubadours!"
-Matt Dudman, producer Pleasant Valley Music recording studio
Music Samples
"Here is my review about a hot new band-. If you want to listen to very catchy bluegrass with songs that will make you tap your foot. Check out "The True Life Troubadours". They are a very tight traditional bluegrass band from the bay area. Every instrument is played well with great singing harmonies. I really enjoy the honesty and energy of these guys-Excellent!" - Jason Burke, Fan
"Great traditional bluegrass music from the Santa Cruz Mountains." -- Michael Hall, Past President, Northern California Bluegrass Society.
The band was founded by Victor Skidanenko, a multi instrumentalist with a long resume of bands stretching back into his childhood, in which he has filled the role of Banjoist, Mandolinist, and Guitarist. and includes notable players such as veteran banjo player Dave Guarente of Carolina Special, and the Grass Menagerie, fiddler Margaret Green, formerly of the Four Finger String Band, and Green Willow Girls, and Rob Morris and Kyla Kent on Bass and Guitar. The band is heavily influenced by the founding fathers of bluegrass, Monroe, Flatt, Scruggs, etc, but expresses a unique take on the music with original songs. With a member of the band born each decade from the 50s-90s, band members each have distinct ideas about bluegrass adding to the bands ability to appeal to a wide range of audiences. The True Life Troubadours offer a tight, exciting, live show, with lots of hot picking, two and three part harmonies, and songs ranging from earthy soulful gospel to fast banjo and fiddle dance music, and are sure to get audiences up and dancing!
Well, I gotta tell ya, I just LOVE The True Life Troubadours. These folks know what traditional bluegrass is supposed to sound like. Not all that surprising from banjoist Dave Guarente, a guy who’s been right in the middle of the Bay Area’s bluegrass scene for decades now, and really not for Victor Skidanenko, who, though young, got smitten by this kind of music as a wee kid and has just gotten better and better. Dave plays the hell out of the banjo and, Victor, who can play most anything, is hanging with the mando and singing a lot of lead…who’d a thought he could croon as well as he picks? Margaret Green (fiddle) and Rob Morris (guitar) round out the group; both are strong singers and know their respective instruments. The Troubs, folks, is a band worth catching. - Rick Cornish, Past President, California Bluegrass Association