Hackensaw Boys

Swinging back and forth between wack hillbilly shtick and some red-hot bluegrass licks, Charlottesville, Virginia's Hackensaw Boys are six hairy guys with aliases like Pee Paw, Shiner and the Kooky-Eyed Fox. But the bandmates pick better than their aliases suggest and barnstorm the jam-band circuit — even though they mostly keep their inner twirl in check. They sing lullabies to caterpillars sitting on their feet, or about the joys of being rural working-stiffs and selling junk engines and video games, using harmonies so militantly nasal and twangy you think they'd choke on their own hiccups. But like the Meat Purveyors and Hayseed Dixie, they're too good-natured and sincere about their old-timey tropes — and too manic onstage to resist.