The Boot Heel Drag

The Boot Heel Drag came together in Crown Heights, Brooklyn in 2012 as the long-dreamt-of creation of singer and multi-instrumentalist Abby Hollander – a girl from a bluegrass picking family in Woodstock, NY who cut her band teeth in Austin, TX. In The Boot Heel Drag, she set out to explore the roots of American music, moving the bluegrass sounds so familiar to her into another dimension.

To round out her band, she enlisted some of New York’s finest musicians. Holding down the rhythm section and defining the sound is drummer and mandolinist Zack Bruce. Coming from a musical family in New Jersey, and with a bluegrass band of his own, Zack – his drumset, his harmonies, his insights – fits right in. Ryan Langlois plays the electric guitar and brings impressive chops, irresistible energy and presence, and charming, fluid vocals, which he lends both to harmonies and leads.

With special guests on everything from bass to pedal steel, The Boot Heel Drag bounces between practice spaces in Zack’s basement in Bushwick and Abby’s living room on Franklin Avenue, fueling the hard-living country songs they favor with cheap tall-boys and fancy whiskey. They’ve shown a deep abiding respect for traditional music, an understanding of the roots of rock and roll, and a love of performance. You can find them in clubs around Brooklyn and Manhattan, and sometimes even upstate. Their debut album, Abby Hollander & The Boot Heel Drag, is now available.