The Something Brothers

The Something Brothers grew out of a long musical friendship. Frank Drake and Dan Africk have been singing together since Flatt Rabbit in the early 2010s, and the blend was too good to leave behind when that band wound down. They kept playing — duo gigs, trio gigs — and eventually the thing had a name.

The current lineup is a quartet. Frank Drake on mandolin, Dan Africk on guitar, Julie Metcalf on fiddle, and Mike Siegal on bass. Between them they bring a deep collective rootedness in bluegrass, old-time, and American folk traditions. Julie is a monster fiddle player whose bowing draws on classic old-time, Celtic, and bluegrass styles. Mike is one of the most sought-after acoustic bassists in New England, with competition wins at Telluride and Thomas Point Beach on his résumé. Dan, Julie, and Mike all play in The New Grown-Ups, a well-regarded Boston-area roots collective — which tells you something about the company Frank keeps.

The Something Brothers grew directly out of The Mudsills, a foundational bluegrass band built around Drake and Africk's vocal harmonies and a love of the Louvin Brothers. That lineage runs deep. The harmonies are close, the repertoire leans traditional, and the playing is the real thing.

Paul Dilley steps in on bass when Mike is unavailable, and the band doesn't miss a beat.