Cole Quest and the City Pickers bring a Big Apple Vibe to Traditional Music

Folk singer Woody Guthrie made his mark on music at a time when many art forms had a huge influence on world events. It was a time of tumult, and a time when new paradigms were introduced through song. According to Cole Quest, of the bluegrass group, Cole Quest and the City Pickers, music can still serve the same role today.

As Woody Guthrie’s grandson, Quest has been influenced quite a bit by the mark his grandfather left on the folk music scene. He said familial connection is, of course, important, but it’s more about a philosophy; Quest thinks music’s proper role is as an agent of change.

“I have a personal belief that there is a responsibility of all artists to call out the injustices of the world,” Quest explained. He hopes to do that, just as his grandfather did.

Part of that mission is on display with the group’s new album, “Homegrown.” Their first release in four years, the record dropped in July. The track list of “Homegrown” includes covers of three of his grandfather’s songs, one of which is the well-known Guthrie number, “Pastures of Plenty.” The album also features a song co-written by Woody and Arlo Guthrie, and songs penned by Peter Rowan and John Hartford. The band released an EP of all original material four years ago, but Quest said “Homegrown” is the first full-length LP.

Quest thinks the band hailing from Brooklyn, New York, gives it a slightly different sound than much of what’s available in bluegrass. To him, there’s a difference between being a “city picker” and a “country picker.”

“I’m an Italian Jew, born just outside Washington Square,” he explained. “I didn’t grow up as a bluegrass musician in the heart of Kentucky, listening to Bill Monroe every day. I think there’s an innate difference in the sounds.”

He explained that the traditional sound wasn’t “baked into his brain” the way it often is for those reared in Appalachia. He said he encountered bluegrass in a big city environment that attracts alternative types of musicians. For example, he said, “Jazz musicians come here from Japan and find a bluegrass jam…”

As he describes it, the bluegrass coming from the Big Apple is a diverse melting pot, much like the city itself.

One example comes from within the group; the harmonica player is from Brazil. Backgrounds in blues, jazz, rock, classical, and other influences help the group meld diverse inputs in a way that puts their unique stamp on bluegrass.

“I grew up playing guitar,” Quest said of his love affair with music. He’d mostly played in rock bands. Then, he was exposed to something new, and a spark was lit.

“I found bluegrass music 15 years ago in a pub in Astoria, Queens.” He learned to play the mandolin. He picked up a dobro. The rest is history. He said the band is not only influenced by the folk sounds of Guthrie, but the expected bluegrass greats also ignite a spark of creativity and set a standard to be emulated.

“We’re big fans of Flatt and Scruggs, and Bill Monroe,” Quest said, explaining why a Brooklyn native could be so drawn to a genre that seems a world away from the concrete streets of his upbringing.

“I really appreciate the lyrical straightforwardness…bluegrass is honest and direct,” he summarized.