Ebony Hillbillies Bring Singular Sound to Spa State Park

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Ebony Hillbillies are a difficult band to categorize.

Nearly everything about the group is unexpected. They’re a string band of “hillbillies,” yet they emerged from New York City. They play old-school blues standards like “Wang Dang Doodle” but they do it with a banjo. They’re traditional Americana yet they touch upon topical issues in songs like “Another Man Done Gone.”

The idiosyncratic group played a free show on the lawn outside the Victorian Pool at Saratoga Spa State Park last Sunday, drawing a sizable crowd of spectators who lounged on the grass during an unexpectedly warm autumn day.

Prior to an hour-long set, the Hillbillies hosted a “children’s hour” in which they helped local kids better understand America’s musical roots.

The event was the final part of the New York State Parks’ Solomon Northup “Hope Out of Darkness” sculpture program series. The 13-foot bronze Northup statue is currently on display in front of the Lincoln Bathhouse at the Spa State Park until Oct. 19.