Originating from musical friendships forged at the East Troy Bluegrass Festival and in the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, the String -em Up boys have performed as a quartet since 2004. With reverence for the traditional string band, the band mixes original material with an innovative blend of old-time, bluegrass, Celtic, Latin and swing styles. Instrumental arrangements with plenty of room for improvisation stem from the bluegrass tradition that brought String -em Up together. Long a staple within the Milwaukee and Madison bluegrass communities, String -em Up is taking hold of their old-time roots, singing and playing melodies of the mountain tradition. With Ben Sanders, violin, trying his luck in Nashville, String -em Up currently performs as a trio in the Madison area: Grant Ziolkowski on mandolin, Starr Moss on guitar and Chris Frahm on bass. In a rare but festive reunion, you may see the quartet back out there sharing and creating new musical bonds, the same as it ever was: fiddle, guitar, mandolin and upright.