By Robyn Smith
Sure, its members might live at opposite ends of the country. They have successful careers that have unfortunately taken them in completely different directions, and they deal with schedules that give a new definition to the word “conflicting.”
Despite all this, The Lonesome Trio still makes the long-lasting friendships from “American Pie” look fragile.
The Lonesome Trio, which originally formed in the early ’90s, will kick off its first national tour at The Birchmere this Thursday. Actor Ed Helms (of “The Office” and “The Hangover” fame), professional musician Ian Riggs and architectural historian Jacob Tilove form the acoustic bluegrass group.
Helms and Tilove met while playing hacky sack during their freshman year at Oberlin College, a private liberal arts school in Ohio. They were paired randomly as roommates during their second year, when they discovered their shared love of music. No one, not even Riggs himself, remembers exactly how or when he joined the group. “It’s a little bit hazy, but I think I just got a call from either Jake or Ed asking if I wanted to come play with them,” Riggs says.
With Helms playing the guitar and banjo, Tilove on the mandolin and Riggs playing bass, the band has a comfortable, twangy sound. Thursday’s concert, the first of eight on their tour, is an opportunity for fans of Helms’ acting, bluegrass lovers and the trio’s family members to come together and enjoy the music.
Because friends and family have been a consistent audience for the group, they’ve had a large influence on all the tour stops as well. Riggs’ parents, Silver Spring, Maryland, residents who frequented The Birchmere in the 1970s, will be in the audience Thursday night. A brother of Helms and an aunt of Tilove, who both live in Washington, D.C., will also be in the crowd. “We chose some of the places that we’re playing because they’re our hometowns also,” Tilove says.
The trio is set to release their debut album, “The Lonesome Trio,” through Sugar Hill Records on June 16.
“This is as soon as we could do it,” Tilove says. “It took a few years of planning until all the planets aligned.” The three spent two weeks recording at Echo Mountain recording studio in Asheville, North Carolina.
It’s understandable that the group has needed a few years to put the album together—they’ve got separate lives and careers that cross the country—but they’re in this for “the long haul,” as Helms once told Riggs when he was playing with a different band in L.A. Helms, of course, was in the audience for Riggs’ show.
“The music is intertwined with our friendship, and that’s a beautiful thing,” Riggs says.
The Lonesome Trio at The Birchmere
3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria, 22305
Thursday, June 4
Show begins at 7:30 p.m.
$20
