About Us
Rooster Riders is an energetic band composed of musicians from various parts of the Czech Republic. At its beginning stood Jirka and Vojta, who felt it would be a real shame not to create music together. Their repertoire consists of progressive bluegrass sung in English. The majority of the repertoire are covers of both well-known and lesser-known songs, but there are also pieces of our own creation. The band has been playing since 2023, with the following lineup:
Band leader Jirka from Lipina near Šternberk began his bluegrass career as a fiddler with BG Cwrkot, where he still plays traditional bluegrass fiddle alongside seasoned bluegrass musicians. Raised on classical music in the ZUŠ, however, he played Bach instead of Baker on the violin for most of his life and only in 2016, thanks to Peter Brandejs' bluegrass workshop, discovered the beauty of bluegrass. Besides Cwrkot, he plays various instruments in Noční Vlak and bass guitar in the Jazz-pop ensemble Dimensionless.
Vojta is a banjo player from Jablonec nad Nisou. He's quite a talent. As a diligent student at ČVUT, he exclusively writes notes for song arrangements on technical drawings and occasionally doodles chords. He found his home in the Czech bluegrass scene through the Handl band, where he replaced his teacher, Jarda Žanta. However, Vojta doesn't limit his bluegrass endeavors to just the Czech Republic; for instance, in the summer of 2023 in the USA, he recorded the album 'Far Away Again' with Matt Scutchfield and participating in Béla Fleck's bluegrass workshop.
Michal is a Czechoslovak born in Prague. His family led him to music, particularly his grandfather, Rudolf, the son of the last miller at the Soblahov Mill, a passionate car enthusiast, and accordionist. Starting in his childhood with a recorder, Michal later shifted to the guitar and accordion. Apart from studying classical music, he was involved in folk and tramp music. As a teenager, he discovered a mandolin in the attic of the old mill, and soon after, the magic of bluegrass. He recorded three albums - 'Sny' (Formát), 'Jediná deska' (Qjeten), 'Two Sisters' (RíRa). He won the Czech Porta 2021 and international Interporta 2022. His second passion after music is vintage cars. With Rooster Riders, he primarily plays the mandolin (Krishot F17), composes, and sings.
If we were to list all the groups in which Kuba plays, he'd probably need his own tab on this page. As a conservatory student, he plays not only in various orchestras and big bands but also in quintets and even in the orchestral academy of PKF - Prague Philharmonia. Besides performing across various corners of Europe, he also delves into bluegrass, mainly thanks to his father Honza, who, aside from playing the guitar, is known for producing unique D-grip picks.
Matt hails from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. After spending his younger years playing rock and roll, folk and classic country, Matt became more interested in bluegrass and gospel music. He refers to Tim O'Brien, John Hartford, Bryan Sutton, Larry Keel, John Duffey, Chris Elderidge and Ben Kaufmann as major influences, among many others. He has played with Twisted Timber and currently plays with Abalone (Gospel/Bluegrass) and Renegade String Band (Bluegrass/Americana) in addition to joining the Rooster Riders.
