Edinburgh's Sociograss on music and community

On a cold January evening last year, I walked up to Bowler’s Rest, a pub nestled in the heart of Leith. I was going to watch and support my friends who had just begun playing the fiddle at the Sunday bluegrass jam sessions there. 

This was how I met the members of the band Sociograss. It was a slow unveiling – first I met double bassist Conal McIntosh. Then, as I started going regularly, the other cast of the play were revealed to me: Ben Errington on the fiddle, Tim Leslie on the guitar, James ‘Jimmy’ Wright on the banjo and Mark Hand on the mandolin make up the rest of the five-piece, as is common in bluegrass music. They all sing. 

The band’s first album, Made It All Up, came out in 2024. After this, they released their Kentucky Dragon EP, a direct result of a commission from American horror novelist Michael Park to write musical accompaniments for the audiobook version of his trilogy of books set in Kentucky. Each story is woven around a song. This musical and literary collaboration gave the band a rare chance to spend some time at the studio, which also germinated the ideas that were to become Glee and Glutton. Released in May of this year, the record includes some original work alongside old and traditional tunes.

The album pulls you in with steady rhythms and deceptively simple sounding arrangements. What is truly special about it is the juxtaposition of the musicians’ virtuosity with the incredible restraint that they show in some of the pieces. You can choose to float on the surface, or you can dive under and discover its depth – and both of these are joyous experiences. The second track, Wake Up, is a haunting tale of lost love which deftly shifts into Little Maggie, retaining its sombre tone while lifting us towards Garfield’s, where the finesse and skill of the band is laid bare. The precision coupled with a certain ruggedness makes for an adventure which does not lose its thrill even when listened to on repeat.

I meet up with the band after their July gig at The Pitt Market in Granton. We talk about the new album, the motivation behind the music and the beautifully rare community they've managed to find and build upon at their Sunday sessions. 

The band was formed when Leslie, who is originally from Pennsylvania, came to Edinburgh and found the other members who had been playing bluegrass professionally with different bands at the time. Joined together by their love for the genre, they happened on the name Sociograss as a last-minute decision. "We needed to decide a name for a gig, and we thought it would be a funny take on the word sociopath, but people often assume that it is named that way because of the word ‘social’, which is definitely nicer," says McIntosh, laughing. The band members are decidedly not sociopaths; a fact I can vouch for after having experienced the wonderfully inclusive space they've created at the Bowler’s sessions. 

Sociograss @ Bowler's Rest. Image courtesy of Sociograss.

The session is different from any other music jam I've ever been to, and you can feel this difference from the first time you attend. While the room at the back of the pub which hosts the night gets very warm, the numbers don't dwindle. The stage at one end of the room is treated as an extension of the space, with musicians strewn throughout, often playing multiple instruments in any one song. There is palpable joy in the air, and musicians of every skill level are genuinely encouraged to participate. Sometimes, McIntosh helps the beginners play by naming the chords. "My job as a teacher helps with that," he says. 

I ask Errington what makes the night so special. "I think it’s the fact that we are not strict about the genre. We’re happy to play along to different kinds of music because it means that more people can participate." Music as an accessible medium of expression strikes a chord with all of them, with Leslie recounting his experience of being a jazz drummer back home. "People can be really judgemental about music, and it can be off-putting," he says. I find it difficult that anyone could judge these musicians with the technical ability that each of them possess. Errington chimes in to say that bluegrass is sometimes called ‘hillbilly jazz’, and that it manages to be both community-based and technically challenging, which is quite fulfilling. Wright and McIntosh, being self-professed introverts, both express how playing music helps them connect with people and makes socialising easier. 

They're also adamant the night wouldn't be possible without the folks who come every week and join in. In fact, I have seen more women and queer people perform here than at any other jam, to the point where we now have our own wee subgroup called ‘Sociogals’, which came about as a result of women and femme people encouraging each other to take up more space. As a result of this, I have discovered so much new music – songs by women and for women – that I would have never come across otherwise.

Among the myriad people who attend the night, I have met highly skilled and trained musicians, people who have studied music all their lives, and people who have never picked up an instrument, just coming in to listen. I have seen numerous cases of people singing in public for the first time, supported by a full band. It is a true community with a shared purpose – one of bringing people together through music. Through this community, I have learned how to connect with people across generation gaps, navigate awkward but inevitable social situations when sharing elbow space with strangers to experience the magic of making fleeting and beautiful art.

The conversation turns to what Edinburgh Council can do to support live music and talent in the city. "They do some things right," McIntosh says, but the band generally agrees that music spaces and communities need to be better supported. Errington recounts an experience where a Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra performance was attended by people from all walks of life: "Music should be for everyone." 

Before I met Sociograss and the wonderful people who attend the Sunday sessions, my faith in music was slowly being eroded by several encounters with musicians who believed in gatekeeping the medium. Becoming part of this community has reaffirmed my belief that another world is possible – it floats in, dancing lightly on thin strings and ivory keys.

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Find Sociograss at their regular Edinburgh meetups: Leith Community Croft (Wednesdays, 6-9pm), The Bowler's Rest (Sundays, 6-9pm) and The Fort of Leith (Thursdays, 7pm)

They also play Church of Sound Festival, People's Leisure Club, Edinburgh, 5 Sep; Glasgow Americana: Gathering South Festival, The Old Toll Bar, Glasgow, 2 Oct; Pianodrome, Edinburgh, 10 Oct; Howe Beer Project, Balmalcolm, Fife, 30 Oct