photo: Stephen Garrett, Corbett vs Dempsey Gallery, October 2023
60 Strings is an all pedal steel trio. Justin Brown, Jordan Martins and Sam Wagster play three double neck pedal steel guitars with no effects or signal processing, showcasing the unique sound and expressive possibilities of the steel guitar. The group creates layered immersive patterns, orchestral textures, hazy vistas, and musical paradoxes.
“Guitars of one sort or another reign supreme on this double bill of local trios. Under the name 60 Strings, pedal steel guitarists Justin Brown, Jordan Martins, and Sam Wagster use technical purism to enable formal experimentation. They confine their playing to the traditional techniques associated with country music and eschew all outboard effects—even amplifier reverb. But the music they’ve developed over a couple years of intense workshopping and occasional gigging isn’t country at all, nor does it fit neatly into any other genre. Instead, 60 Strings have orchestrated patient unisons, stately melodies, and layered atmospherics into a celebration of the pedal steel guitar’s purely sonic potential.”