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The Six-String Soldiers is a component unit of the 
Six-String Soldiers cover of "Ramblin' Man"
Six-String Soldiers cover of "Strawberry Fields Forever"
{{United States military bands, state=collapsed 2014 establishments in the United States American country music groups Bands of the United States Army
United States Army Field Band
The United States Army Field Band of Washington, D.C. is a touring musical organization of the United States Army Military District of Washington. It performs more than 400 concerts per year and has performed in all 50 states of the United Stat ...
responsible for performing contemporary American folk music genres, principally including bluegrass and country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
, as well as acoustic covers of popular songs. Posted to Fort George G. Meade
Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States Army Field Band, and the headquarters of United States Cyber Command, th ...
in Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
, it consists of five performing personnel plus support staff.
History
Activated in May 2014, the ensemble first achieved widespread attention duringBoston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
's February 2015 snowstorm when weather forced it to cancel a planned appearance in that city. The quartet, instead, filmed a video outside their hotel performing George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
's " Here Comes the Sun" which quickly accumulated nearly nine million views on Facebook.
Six-String Soldiers has performed with Darryl Worley
Darryl Wade Worley (born October 31, 1964) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to DreamWorks Records Nashville in 1999, Worley released four albums for the label: ''Hard Rain Don't Last'' (2000), ''I Miss My Friend'' (200 ...
, Harry Connick Jr.
Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and former television host. As of 2019, he has sold over 30 million records worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 best-selling ma ...
, The Irish Rovers
The Irish Rovers is a group of Irish musicians that formed in Toronto, Canada in 1963'Irish Rovers are Digging out those old Folk songs', By Ballymena Weekly Editor, Ballymena Weekly Telegraph, N. Ireland – 20 August 1964 and named after the ...
, the University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band
The University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band (UMMB) is the marching band for the University of Massachusetts Amherst known for its drum corps style and nationally renowned percussion section. The Minuteman Band is also known for its ...
, and has opened for Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival, commonly abbreviated as CCR or simply Creedence, was an American Rock music, rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, h ...
's John Fogerty
John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty, he founded the swamp rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he was th ...
. On November 10, 2017, it performed on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...
prior to the closing bell and its broadcast appearances have included HLN's ''Morning Express with Robin Meade
''Morning Express with Robin Meade'' is an American morning news program that aired on the HLN television network in the United States from 2005 to December 5, 2022.
About the show
''Morning Express with Robin Meade'' aired weekdays on HLN f ...
'', KTLA-TV
KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship station of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is the ...
and WPIX-TV
WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City, serving as the ''de facto'' flagship of The CW Television Network. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, the station is operated by CW majority owner Nexstar Media Group under a local marketi ...
, among others. In 2016, ''Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
s Andy Gray called Six-String Soldiers his "new favorite band" for its acoustic cover of "Strawberry Fields Forever
"Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song by the English Rock music, rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released on 13 February 1967 as a double A-side single with "Penny Lane". It represented ...
".
In 2016 Six-String Soldiers released its first album, which was composed of seven original songs and four covers. The album, ''I've Been There'', was produced by Bill Kirchen and engineered by Todd Whitelock. It plans a second album release in 2019.
Organization
Posted to Fort George G. Meade in Maryland, the group tours within the United States and internationally to support recruitment efforts by the United States Army and to entertain both deployed Army personnel and patients atUnited States Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...
hospitals. It has alternated between four and five members. As of 2018, instrumentation includes guitar, mandolin
A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...
, banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin.
...
, acoustic bass guitar
The acoustic bass guitar (sometimes shortened to acoustic bass or initialized ABG) is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually larger than, a steel-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar ...
, and fiddle
A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...
.
See also
*Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps
The United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps is one of four premier musical organizations of the United States Army. Members perform using musical instruments and wearing uniforms similar to those used by military musicians of the C ...
* United States Army Band
The United States Army Band, also known as "Pershing's Own", is the premier musical organization of the United States Army, founded in 1922. There are currently seven official performing ensembles in the unit: The U.S. Army Concert Band, The U.S. ...
* West Point Band
The West Point Band (also known as the U.S. Military Academy Band or USMA Band) is the U.S. Army's oldest active-duty band and the oldest unit at the United States Military Academy.
An act of Congress (Military Peace Establishment Act) issued o ...
References
External links
Six-String Soldiers cover of "Ramblin' Man"
Six-String Soldiers cover of "Strawberry Fields Forever"
{{United States military bands, state=collapsed 2014 establishments in the United States American country music groups Bands of the United States Army